It may have not been the biggest
question in Washington, D.C., yesterday, but for city politics, “Brown
or Grosso?” was the main uncertainty.
And by the night’s end, David
Grosso appears to have emerged as
the near-certain winner. The firsttime candidate elbowed out incum-

bent Michael A. Brown in the tight
race for one of the at-large seats on
the D.C. Council.
Grosso will serve alongside his
fellow Ward 5 resident Vincent
Orange, who was handily re-elected
out of a field of seven.
As of The Current’s deadline,
Democrat Orange held 37 percent of
the vote, Grosso 21 percent, and
Brown 15 percent.
While Orange virtually ensured a
win by sealing the Democratic nom-

ination in the primaries last spring,
the real competition centered on the
other seat — prohibited by law from
going to a second Democrat. Grosso
and Brown both ran as independents.
In Northwest, Grosso won most
precincts in wards 2 and 3, while
Orange had a commanding lead in
Ward 4. Brown placed last of seven
in several precincts, including in the
Georgetown and Woodley Park
See Election/Page 20

Board landmarks midcentury building
By ELIZABETH WIENER
Current Staff Writer

Bill Petros/The Current

Wilson High School will stage the Tony Award-winning musical
“Guys and Dolls” this week and next. The show will open Friday
and run through Nov. 17.

An international real estate firm that bought the Wire
Building in 2008, with plans to raze the 12-story structure and redevelop its choice downtown site, is now
dealing with a newly landmarked building — and a big
threat to its $40 million investment.
The D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board, on a
6-1 vote last Thursday, designated the midcentury modern office building at 1000 Vermont Ave. NW as a local
landmark, as well as nominating it to the National
Register of Historic Places. That gives the building that
once housed a Sholl’s cafeteria immediate protection
from demolition or exterior alteration.
Board members were somewhat torn about the merits
of the 1950 building, with its distinctive ribbon windows
and curved concrete corner overlooking McPherson
Square. But they ultimately agreed with a staff report that
See Landmark/Page 18

Bill Petros/The Current

Developers sought to tear down the 1950 building,
but preservation officials deemed it significant as
part of the city’s early financial district.

Avalon Theatre raises
$2 million for projects

4th District endures spike in
armed, unarmed robberies

By BETH COPE

■ Crime: Police make arrests,

Current Staff Writer

The Avalon Theatre has just closed the curtains on
another scene in its reopening story: a nearly five-year,
$2 million capital campaign.
The effort, in the works since March 2008, has made
it possible during that time for the nonprofit that runs the
Chevy Chase movie theater to open its own cafe, install
a new heating/cooling system in the upstairs theater and
pay down $200,000 of its mortgage principal. Nearly
complete is an update to the main theater’s heating/cooling system, and a new elevator is being planned.
“It’s just a testament to the perseverance and dedication of a lot of people,” said campaign chair Juliet
Zucker. “This is a great achievement, and it’s great that
people care that much about the Avalon … and really

NEWS
Budget shift
boosts funding
for IT at Cooke,
other schools

— Page 3

form covert intervention unit
By DEIRDRE BANNON
Bill Petros/The Current

Bill Oberdorfer and Juliet Zucker helped spearhead
the five-year fundraising effort, which paid for work
such as restoration of a ceiling mural.
believe in it.”
Completion of the Avalon Legacy Campaign is
hardly the end of fundraising for the theater, though. The
operators require annual contributions to cover costs, and
even as they finish up the capital improvements on the
See Avalon/Page 5

SPOR TS
NCS, other area
schools win
conference
championships

— Page 11

Current Staff Writer

After a prolonged spike in recent
months of armed and unarmed robberies in the 4th Police District,
officers made eight to 10 robbery
arrests over the past two weeks,
Cmdr. Kimberly Chisley-Missouri
reported Saturday.
A newly formed covert robbery
intervention unit was also active in
the district during that time period,

helping officers to analyze robbery
data and identify patterns and target
areas, the commander reported at a
town-hall meeting on crime.
Ward 4 D.C. Council member
Muriel Bowser and the Metropolitan
Police Department organized the
meeting in response to the area’s
uptick in robberies.
“When you have a crime on your
block, it’s a big deal,” said Bowser.
“We have to make sure we stay on
top of these types of crimes and that
perpetrators are being arrested, and
that there is enough police presence
so that officers can prevent these
See Crime/Page 7

Just before the D.C. Council
began considering legislation to
reduce fines from city speed cameras, D.C. officials acted to alter the
fines for speeding in the city.
The new fine schedule,
announced Friday, is as follows:
â&#x2013; up to 10 mph over the limit: $50
(reduced from $75);
â&#x2013; 11 to 15 mph over the limit: $100
(reduced from $125);
â&#x2013; 16 to 20 mph over the limit: $150
(unchanged);
â&#x2013; 21 to 25 mph over the limit: $200
(unchanged); and
â&#x2013; more than 25 mph over the limit:
$300 (increased from $250).
Mayor Vincent Gray said the
changes came in response to feedback to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s automated traffic
enforcement program.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;For months since the
Metropolitan Police Department put
more photo-enforcement vehicles
on the street to reduce speeding,
decrease traffic fatalities and make
things safer for all motorists, pedes-

trians and cyclists, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve received
lots of feedback â&#x20AC;&#x201D; some of it good
and some of it bad,â&#x20AC;? he said in a
news release. Gray said he believes
the changes â&#x20AC;&#x153;will improve fairness
while continuing to ensure and
improve public safety.â&#x20AC;?
The changes will be implemented through the regulatory authority
of the Department of Motor
Vehicles and thus can go into effect
immediately with legislation. The
police department has indicated that
motorists caught speeding on camera are fined if they are driving
more than 10 mph over the limit.
Fridayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s release also says that
officials also plan to â&#x20AC;&#x153;study the
safety of altering speed limits in
areas where improvements to roadways may enable changes without
compromising safety.â&#x20AC;? It further
notes that some of the funds collected from the cameras will now go
toward hiring 100 additional police
officers.
Meanwhile, the D.C. Council
began holding hearings Monday on
automated traffic enforcement legislation by Ward 3 D.C. Council

member Mary Cheh, Ward 6
Council member Tommy Wells and
Ward 8 Council member Marion
Barry that would set the penalty for
speeding above 11 mph and under
20 mph over the limit at $50. The
hearing will continue Nov. 13.

Ward 3 Dems to hold
caucuses next week

The Ward 3 Democratic
Committee will hold caucuses to
elect 108 new precinct delegates
Nov. 12 through 15.
Each of the wardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 18 precincts
will elect up to six delegates to
serve on the committee. Each delegate serves a two-year term.
Residents must be registered
Democrats in Ward 3 to vote or
become a delegate, according to a
news release from the committee.
The delegates are expected to
attend the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regular
meetings and engage in outreach
efforts to voters throughout the city.
Caucuses for precincts 10, 29
and 31 will be held Nov. 12; precinct 33, Nov. 13; precincts 7, 8, 9,

Mayor Vincent Gray announced
a business license amnesty program
last week that will allow businesses
operating without the required permit to obtain one without paying a
$2,000 fine.
The amnesty period, which
impacts businesses whose licenses
expired before Aug. 1 as well as
those that do not have a license,
began last week and will continue
through Dec. 31.
The D.C. Department of
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
conducted a business compliance
initiative this year and found â&#x20AC;&#x153;significant numbers of businesses that
were operating with missing or
expired licenses or corporate documents.â&#x20AC;?
The amnesty program is aimed

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Brothers and best-selling authors
Franklin Foer, Jonathan Safran Foer
and Joshua Foer will give their first
joint lecture Nov. 19 at Washington
Hebrew Congregation. The native
Washingtonians will spend the evening discussing their craft.
The free event is a tribute to the
memory of Benjamin Cooper, who
was killed in a 1997 accident as a
rising senior at the Foersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; alma
mater, Georgetown Day School.
Franklin Foer is the editor of
The New Republic and author of
the book â&#x20AC;&#x153;How Soccer Explains the
World: An Unlikely Theory of
Globalization.â&#x20AC;? Jonathan Safran
Foer is the author of the novels
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything Is Illuminatedâ&#x20AC;? and
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close.â&#x20AC;? Joshua Foer is a journalist
and the author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moonwalking
With Einstein: The Art and Science
of Remembering Everything.â&#x20AC;?
The lecture, which is sponsored
by Georgetown Day, will begin at
7:30 p.m. Reservations are suggested; visit gds.org/cooperlecture.

Corrections

In the Oct. 31 issue, an article on
a rear addition planned at 1321 21st
St. misstated the number of units
planned â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it is four to six, not nine.
The article also incorrectly reported
that the Dupont advisory neighborhood commission voted to oppose
the project; its resolution expressed
concerns but did not oppose the
project.
The Current regrets the errors.
As a matter of policy, The
Current corrects all errors of substance. To report an error, please
call the managing editor at 202-2447223.

Advertising published in The Current Newspapers is
accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services as offered are accurately described and are available
to customers at the advertised price. Advertising that does
not conform to these standards, or that is deceptive or
misleading, is never knowingly accepted. If any Current
Newspapers reader encounters non-compliance with
these standards, we ask that you inform us.
All advertising and editorial matter is fully protected
and may not be reproduced in any manner without permission from the publisher.
Subscription by mail â&#x20AC;&#x201D; $52 per year

Late budget shift adds money for schools
By ELIZABETH WIENER
Current Staff Writer

An 11th-hour budget shift by District officials has
added nearly $14 million to the coffers of charter and
public schools â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including money for major technology
upgrades at 32 underperforming public schools. But the
late changes and lack of detail left some D.C. Council
members fuming.
The council, by a 9-2 vote last Thursday, approved
â&#x20AC;&#x153;reprogrammingâ&#x20AC;? of some $25 million in unspent funds
from fiscal 2012, to include $6.9 million to charter
schools for facilities or other needs and $6.9 million to
public schools for technology improvements. The shift
also allotted $6.5 million to Metro, $1.5 million for parks
and recreation facilities, and $1.2 million to the Oak Hill
juvenile detention center.
Aides to Mayor Vincent Gray said the last-minute
shifts came because unspent funds couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be calculated
until the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, while city law
requires that money not reprogrammed by Nov. 1 go
back into the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reserves. Gray has also touted recent
initiatives to fund charter school modernization with
local dollars, and to upgrade many park and recreation
facilities â&#x20AC;&#x201D; both efforts that will be boosted by the extra
dollars.
But the council, in a two-hour debate, clearly felt left

in the dark. Members hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t received precise figures
until late the day before their rescheduled Nov. 1 legislative meeting. And they were particularly concerned
about the $6.9 million in Internet-access improvements
proposed for 32 public schools, some of which have
already undergone major renovations.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Are you telling me theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve upgraded the HVAC, the
electric, but they forgot to connect to the Internet?â&#x20AC;? said
Ward 4 member Muriel Bowser.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already assigned funds to provide these services,â&#x20AC;? said at-large member David Catania. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re
going to essentially give them the money twice.â&#x20AC;?
But D.C. Public Schools spokesperson Melissa
Salmanowitz later told The Current that the $6.9 million
investment will accelerate needed Internet infrastructure
improvements, â&#x20AC;&#x153;focusing primarily on our lowest-performing schools,â&#x20AC;? to provide reliable services for all
students.
The money will pay for â&#x20AC;&#x153;new and better components,
like jacks, ports, wires and systems â&#x20AC;Ś that actually use
far less electricity,â&#x20AC;? Salmanowitz wrote in an email, providing â&#x20AC;&#x153;hundreds of new wireless access points in our
schools.â&#x20AC;? She said some schools that received only Phase
I modernizations still donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have adequate information
technology capacity, while others modernized more than
five years ago have equipment that is now out of date.
See Budget/Page 18

The week ahead
Wednesday, Nov. 7

The Ward 4 Democrats group will
hold its monthly meeting, which will
include analysis of election results and
legislative updates from D.C. Council
Chairman Phil Mendelson and Ward 4
D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at
Emery Recreation Center, 5701 Georgia
Ave. NW.

Thursday, Nov. 8

The D.C. Commission on the Arts
and Humanities will host an open forum
on upcoming plans for the Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
increased arts budget for fiscal year
2013. The forum will be held from 6 to
8 p.m. in Room A05, Building 44,
University of the District of Columbia,
4201 Connecticut Ave. NW.
â&#x2013; The D.C. Department of
Transportation and the Federal Highway
Administration will hold a public meeting

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to discuss the rehabilitation of Broad
Branch Road between Linnean Avenue
and Beach Drive. The meeting will be
held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the
Methodist Home of D.C., 4901
Connecticut Ave. NW.
â&#x2013; The Burleith Citizens Association will
hold its annual community meeting at 7
p.m. in the student center at the Duke
Ellington School of the Arts, 3500 R St.
NW. The agenda will include remarks by
Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack
Evans.

Saturday, Nov. 10

The Dumbarton Oaks Park
Conservancy will hold a volunteer day
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for volunteers to
cut invasive vines and shrubs along the
margins of the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meadows.
Training and tools will be supplied; volunteers should meet at the top of
Lovers Lane near 30th and R streets

NW. To register, contact Ann Aldrich at
aaldrich@dopark.org.

Tuesday, Nov. 13

The Brightwood Community
Association will hold its monthly meeting
from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. John United
Baptist Church, 6343 13th St. NW.
â&#x2013; The Chevy Chase Citizens Association
will hold its monthly meeting, which will
feature a discussion of local community
courts. The meeting will be held at 7:30
p.m. at the Chevy Chase Community
Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. NW.

Wednesday, Nov. 14

The National Capital Planning
Commission will hold an open house to
present draft policies for the Federal
Urban Design Element of the
Comprehensive Plan. The event will
begin at 6:30 p.m. at the District
Architecture Center, 421 7th St. NW.

docket, others arise. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like an old
house â&#x20AC;&#x201D; something can always be
improved,â&#x20AC;? said Zucker.
But for now, she and her team are
celebrating their success.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a huge accomplishment
for this relatively small operation
here,â&#x20AC;? said executive director Bill
Oberdorfer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What it really speaks to
is the reason the theater exists:
People who support the theater really support the theater.â&#x20AC;?
Those supporters contributed an
average of $1,100 apiece to the capital campaign, with the largest pledge
topping out at $200,000. All of that
added up to $2 million â&#x20AC;&#x201D; about a
third of the amount the Avalonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
operators have raised, from donations and grants, since reopening the
space in April 2003.
The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest operating movie
house had closed two years before
that, with Loews Cineplex
Entertainment Corp. shuttering the
5612 Connecticut Ave. space and
stripping it of its equipment.

After that, developer Douglas
Jemal took control of the building,
and a group of neighbors launched
the nonprofit Avalon Theatre Project
to run it as a movie theater. A decadeplus later, the nonprofit owns the
building and has made significant
strides in updating it.
Zucker said the main goals of the
just-completed capital campaign
were to address the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pressing physical needs, including shoring up a sidewalk out front that was
collapsing over mechanical equipment and updating the theaterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awkward concessions stand.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was just kind of serendipitous,â&#x20AC;? Zucker said of the opening of
the cafe after Ben & Jerryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vacated
the space. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to
throw anybody out.â&#x20AC;?
Creating the cafe has been beneficial, approximately doubling the
concession standâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take, estimated
Oberdorfer.
Then, partway through the fundraising campaign, the heating and
air-conditioning unit in the upstairs
movie theater â&#x20AC;&#x201D; home to the small-

er of the Avalonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two screens â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
failed, requiring a full replacement.
After that, operators moved quickly
to replace the downstairs system
before it conked out, too.
The capital campaign funds have
also paid for restoration of a ceiling
mural in the main theater and for a
contribution to the mortgage principal, which helped reduce monthly
payments to $6,700.
Zucker said more than 1,700 people donated to the cause, spurred by
numerous parties, direct-mail solicitations, a phonathon and a couple of

major fundraising events.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re our investors and what
theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting in return for their
investment is not a dividend; â&#x20AC;Ś itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
a good feeling that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re keeping
an important part of Chevy Chase
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but also of the city â&#x20AC;&#x201D; operating,â&#x20AC;?
she said.
And she and the other members
of the Avalonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s board hope to
encourage people to keep giving.
They run an annual campaign to help
cover the theaterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approximately
$900,000 operating budget (85 to 90
percent of which is covered by rev-

enue), and they see more capital
needs on the horizon â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a new projection system, for instance.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mandatory conversion
to digital that is under way in the
industry, away from 35 mm, which
of course weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had for decades,â&#x20AC;?
said Oberdorfer.
Oberdorfer estimates a new projection system would cost $125,000
for the two screens. He said there
may be enough capital campaign
money left over to cover it â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or the
Avalon Theatre Project may have to
launch another fundraising effort.

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ANC 3E
ANC 3E
Tenleytown
â&#x2013; american university park
American
University Park

friendship heights / tenleytown

The commission will meet at
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in the
multipurpose room at Janney
Elementary
School,
4130
Albemarle St. NW.
Agenda items include:
â&#x2013; police report.
â&#x2013; presentation relating to the move
of the Aquila Recovery Center from
4455 Connecticut Ave. to 5100
Wisconsin Ave.
â&#x2013; presentation of a grant request by
the Janney PTA for its WinterFest
event.
â&#x2013; consideration of a resolution calling for parking along one side of
Yuma Street between Massachusetts
and Wisconsin avenues.
â&#x2013; consideration of a resolution
opposing reductions in fines for
certain tickets issued as a result of
automated traffic enforcement.
For details, visit anc3e.org.
ANC 3F
ANCHills
3F
Forest
â&#x2013; Forest hills / North cleveland park

Although our community has a relatively low crime rate, there are
enough serious offenses such as armed robberies and home burglaries
to be worrisome. When a crime does happen, we often find that the
perpetrator has a long criminal record. What we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see is how our
law enforcement agencies and courts are working to stop criminals
before they act.
At our next meeting, on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the
Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. NW, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll
hear from key law enforcement officials and a judge about local community courts that seek to hold defendants accountable while also
addressing issues that may be contributing to their bad behavior.
According to the Center for Court Innovation, such â&#x20AC;&#x153;neighborhoodfocusedâ&#x20AC;? courts are designed â&#x20AC;&#x153;to harness the power of the justice
system to address local problems.â&#x20AC;?
At least as far back as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;broken windowsâ&#x20AC;? theory of the 1980s,
some experts have believed that minor crimes can lead to major ones.
In 2002, D.C. started an East of the River Community Court to offer
defendants in minor cases a chance to accept responsibility for their
behavior, make restitution to the community, and get necessary treatment and educational services.
A study showed that participants in the community court were only
half as likely to reoffend, compared to those not in the program. Based
on this success, community courts were established to cover the entire
city. One of them handles cases in our 2nd Police District as well as
in the 4th Police District.
Four leaders of the effort will be with us to discuss the court:
Senior Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin, who presides at our community court; Tom Williams from the D.C. Court Services and
Offender Supervision Agency, which handles probation and parole in
D.C.; Assistant U.S. Attorney Trena Carrington, the community prosecutor for our 2nd District; and Clifford Keenan, a former police
officer and prosecutor, who now heads D.C.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pretrial Services
Agency. Join us for an inside look at the Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s criminal justice
system and what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing to hold down the crime rate.
Please note that, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
membership meeting is the second Tuesday of the month, instead of
the usual third Tuesday.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jonathan Lawlor

Shepherd Park Citizens Association

Cloudy weather and cool temperatures did not dampen the spirits
of Shepherd Park Halloween lovers who gathered at Shepherd
Elementary for the associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual parade on Halloween night.
As in previous years, the parade was a treat! There were costumes
galore with traditional and contemporary themes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; vampires (including Draculas Tim and Kelly Shuy), witches, ghosts, goblins, demons,
superheroes, fighters with glowing swords, princesses, dragons, a
dinosaur and so much more. Volunteers distributed candy at stations
around the track. At the end of the parade route, revelers received
glow sticks, a list of neighbors passing out treats and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Trick-or-Treat
for UNICEFâ&#x20AC;? boxes. (UNICEF boxes can be turned in to Shepherd
Elementary anytime between now and Thanksgiving.) It was quick
and simple, but oh so thrilling. To use organizer Mark Pattisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
words, â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a half-hour of unadulterated bliss.â&#x20AC;?
Thanks to the following for their contributions to this exciting
event: Mark Pattison for his vision and organization; association volunteers Tim and Kelly Shuy, Adrienne Antoine, Cheryl Teare,
Rosemary Reed Miller, Noreen Conway, Bob Raymond, Paula
Sanderlin Dorasti and photographer Ed Savwoir; the house contest
entrants and judges; and the 112 families who put their houses on the
trick-or-treat list. Finally, thanks to the countless parents and children
who paraded their excitement and creativity and who continue to
make Shepherd Park a wonderful place to live.
Also for Halloween, we had our annual house-decorating contest.
Congratulations to Michel Martin of Jonquil Street for best house and
Patricia Bailey on Locust Street for funkiest house, best pumpkins and
funkiest pumpkins!
In early November, the association will be changing flowers in the
planters along upper Georgia Avenue. (Watch the listserv for more
details or contact me at scsprather@aol.com.)
The Shepherd Elementary PTA is sponsoring two family dinner
nights, where the PTA will get back 20 percent of your pretax tab if
you tell the restaurant that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re with Shepherd. Think Ledo Pizza
(7435 Georgia Ave.) on Nov. 12 and Nandoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Perri-Peri (924
Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring) on Nov. 16. Contact the school for
more details.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Cynthia Prather

crestwood

The commission will meet at
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, at

the Petworth Library, 4200
Kansas Ave. NW.

For details, call 202-723-6670 or
visit anc4c.org.

The CurrenT

Wednesday, november 7, 2012

ch

7

CRIME: Police seek to address spike in armed and unarmed robberies in 4th District

From Page 1

crimes from happening.â&#x20AC;?
Robberies in the 4th District
surged in June and then subsided as
quickly as they started, ChisleyMissouri told approximately 60 residents at the meeting. But another
spike in robberies that started in

â??Armed robberies are
very unsettling, and we
take it seriously.â?&#x17E;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Assistant Chief Diane Groomes
August hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dropped off as much
as police would like, she said.
Citywide, robberies â&#x20AC;&#x153;exploded,â&#x20AC;?
increasing 46 percent in the beginning of the year compared to the
same period in 2011, according to
Assistant Police Chief Diane
Groomes, who also attended the
meeting. In recent months, robberies
have dropped to about 6 percent
higher than the same time period last
year. Chisley-Missouri said exact
figures for the 4th District are not yet
available.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Armed robberies are very unsettling, and we take it seriously,â&#x20AC;? said
Groomes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We consider it one step
away from homicide.â&#x20AC;? With suspects trending younger in age, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you
donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what they will do, or
how nervous they might be,â&#x20AC;? she
added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and it just takes one little
push of the trigger and someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
dead.â&#x20AC;?
Most recent suspects are males

who range in age from 16 to 21,
though the commander said some
are older and some are younger.
In the 4th District, a number of
the armed robberies are happening
on Kennedy Street and Georgia
Avenue and adjacent blocks, as well
as along Rittenhouse near 13th and
14th streets, according to ChisleyMissouri. While most incidents took
place overnight, several happened
during daytime hours.
Many victims are alone, walking
home from the Petworth or Takoma
Metro stations between the hours of
10 p.m. and 2 a.m., when they are
robbed. Along Georgia Avenue and
Kennedy Street, Hispanic men are
often targeted, said ChisleyMissouri.
Suspects are said to come from
around the city, including the 4th
District, and often use those same
Metro stations to quickly escape the
area. They also use stolen cars and
frequently travel along Military
Road to flee the vicinity, according
to the commander. Officers work
closely with colleagues from neighboring jurisdictions in Maryland and
Virginia to help capture suspects,
she said.
Police have begun deploying
vehicles with tag readers along regularly used paths out of the 4th
District, which alert officers to stolen cars as well as to persons of
interest or those who have arrest
warrants.
A department truancy and curfew
van has also been active in the district to deter crime, picking up teenagers during school hours and late at

night.
When asked by Bowser about
staffing levels, Chisley-Missouri
said she would always like to have
more officers in the 4th District. In
the last graduating class of 88 officers, only one came to the district,
she said, but sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hoping more will
be assigned to her when the next
class graduates in about two weeks.
In addition to the robberies, residents at the meeting expressed concerns about late-night activities

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a warm welcome
at Ingleside at Rock Creek!
So call today at 202-596-3083
and schedule an appointment.

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I\<PM8PWMVQ`

No matter what the weather, life at Ingleside at Rock Creek
is warm, safe and secure. Keep active in our heated pool
or just relax by the fire in our lounge overlooking Rock
Creek Park. Spend your evening conversing with friends
in our elegant dining room before enjoying a movie in
the theater. Everything is just steps from your door with
no worries about the weather outside. Add to all this the
security of complete on-site health care and you have the
perfect retirement lifestyle.

to see more lighting along city streets
and alleys. Bowser, Groomes and
Chisley-Missouri all said they would
work to address those concerns.
For updates on police announcements, active investigations and
arrests, residents can join the 4th
District listserv at bitly.com/
UgpOaT. For more immediate information, residents can sign up to
receive text alerts from the
Metropolitan Police Department by
going to mpdc.dc.gov.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard of the calm
before the stormâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;
experience the calm during
the storm.

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*OL]`*OHZL7HYR^H`>HZOPUN[VU+*

along upper Georgia Avenue, and
about pervasive drug markets in the
ward that contribute to crime, including a house near Farragut and 9th
streets where drug sales have persisted for years. Chisley-Missouri
and Groomes said they aware of
these problems and will continue
efforts to dismantle what they called
â&#x20AC;&#x153;entrenchedâ&#x20AC;? crime in those areas.
Residents said they want more
police presence in the form of foot
and car patrols, and many would like

Long after this summer’s “derecho” and similarly devastating
storms, the outrage festered — largely over Pepco’s inability to keep
the power flowing, though sometimes about the District’s failure to
remove dangerous trees before they fell. Calls for undergrounding
utilities kept neighborhood listservs lively for weeks.
Aside from some scattered electrical and cable outages, the District
emerged fairly well from Hurricane Sandy — compared not only to
the devastation in New York and New Jersey, but also to the general
expectations locally. This time, Pepco even seemed to have proportionately fewer outages and better restoration times than did other
utilities in the region.
In the case of Pepco, some suggest that the praise is primarily
because the company’s past failures to maintain its infrastructure set
the bar so low. Had the hurricane’s path not spared the District from
the catastrophic damage many expected, who knows how the company and the District’s storm crews would have responded?
Though that question is unanswerable, we still believe both Pepco
and city officials deserve positive marks for their preparations and
responsiveness. Pepco marshaled its resources and arranged for plenty of help from outside utilities, and both efforts seemed to help it
resolve the outages that did occur. It seems possible, as well, that residents who watched their lights flicker at the height of the storm could
easily have seen a prolonged outage had utility workers not been at
their posts. Similarly, there were reports of a tree that fell near
Meridian Hill Park — and then reports soon after that the city had
already cleaned up the mess.
In terms of the city’s response, the most legitimate criticism in our
view involves a lack of communication. The Department of Public
Works understandably delayed trash collection on Monday and
Tuesday, but the agency failed to send out a clear enough message
about the new schedule. The result was stories of residents wheeling
heavy trashcans back and forth to the street or alley unnecessarily.
Likewise, D.C. agencies ought to have provided updates on the storm
damage that did occur — such as the huge fallen tree that closed a
section of Broad Branch Road north of Davenport Street.

Helping neighbors

We were pleased to learn that Ward 4 residents are working to create an “aging in place” village for the community.
The trend of creating neighborhood networks to help seniors stay
in their homes as they age first came to the District about five years
ago and has since been making its way through the city. Each impacted community seems to have benefited from the development, with
older residents gaining services as well as crucial connections with
their neighbors.
About 70 neighbors met recently in North Portal Estates to discuss
the possibilities for a village in Ward 4, the majority of which has
thus far not been served by any of the city’s handful of such networks.
“Far too many seniors in the District are going to nursing homes
prematurely,” said John Thompson, executive director of the Office
on Aging, which is helping with the effort. He said senior villages can
help decrease the influx to nursing facilities because they provide a
myriad of services — even things like home health care and house
modifications — to help seniors remain at home.
Ward 4 is a particularly appropriate place for a village, as it has the
second-highest senior population in the city — more than 16,000 —
after Ward 3. It’s also less dense than some parts of town, with many
seniors living in single-family homes that offer less connection to
neighbors than do apartment buildings or condos.
The next steps in the process are forming a steering committee of
volunteers and conducting a needs-assessment survey. We wish the
organizers — both the city officials and the resident group Neighbors
Inc. — great success.

The Current

The winner? Big government …

N

o matter who has won the presidential contest and assorted U.S. House and Senate
races, one thing is pretty certain.
The era of big government is not over.
And that’s probably good news for the hundreds
of thousands of federal government workers in the
Washington region, the scores of military families
and the legions more who work in the private sector
with government contracts.
In this region, we are
the seat of government,
or “SOG” for short.
On Monday before
the election, former
Northern Virginia U.S.
Rep. Tom Davis sat
down with NBC4 to discuss the likely impact of the
national results on our region.
“It’s all on the margins in terms of what government does,” Davis said of various attempts over the
years to grow or curtail government spending.
Davis, a moderate conservative, said this time is different partially because of the tremendous budget
deficits run up in the last decade.
“This region has fared better over the last years
than other regions because of the expenditures,”
Davis said, “but that’s about to end. We’re borrowing 40 cents on every dollar [that we spend],” he
said, “and at this point, something has to give. We
know this is unsustainable, so Congress has got to
address this.”
Although the most conservative members of
Congress vow no new taxes or revenue, Davis said
extremes on the right or left can’t be sustained,
either. The looming sequestration list of cuts — if
allowed — would damage not only the regional
economy, but also the national economy.
“And they can’t just [fix it] by addressing discretionary spending. That cripples this region,” Davis
said. “They’re going to have to get into some of the
entitlements; they may have to get into some revenues.”
Davis is not on any ballot, so he can say “revenue” without flinching. We’ll see how the survivors
of Tuesday’s election feel as they return to the budget negotiating table.
■ By the numbers. When Ronald Reagan was
president, his budget in 1982 totaled about $617 billion, according to figures from the American
Presidency Project at the University of California at
Santa Barbara. Reagan’s deficit that year was about
$128 billion. By the time that George W. Bush left
office, the budget was $2.9 trillion and the deficit
was $458 billion. Under Barack Obama (and
accounting for the policies of the Bush era into
2009) the budget has now reached $3.7 trillion with
a deficit of about $1.2 trillion.
Enough numbers. We’re getting woozy.
■ Tax office crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office
announced last week that another former employee
of the city’s tax office has pleaded guilty to taking
part in a scheme that netted $14.7 million in refunds
for 3,700 fake income tax returns.
Kimberle Y. Davis, a control technician in the
Office of Tax and Revenue, admitted she stole $4
million and handled about 1,000 phony returns.
Before you go yelling at Chief Financial Officer

Natwar Gandhi for this latest management problem,
note this sentence from the news release sent out by
U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen:
“The fraudulent activities were uncovered by
OTR. The case was investigated jointly thereafter
by that agency and Internal Revenue ServiceCriminal Investigation.”
Of course, a grumpy critic might ask why the
scheme lasted so long before being found out. Ward
2 D.C. Council member
Jack Evans, chair of the
Finance and Revenue
Committee, has asked
similar questions.
But Gandhi himself
was proud to note that
this crime, like many others, was first discovered by
his employees.
“We are pleased that the vigilance of the Office
of Tax and Revenue Criminal Investigation Unit
uncovered this scheme, which led to this day of
reckoning,” Gandhi said.
■ Photo finish. Mayor Vincent Gray last week
jumped out in front of critics of the city’s speed
camera system.
The mayor announced that as of this Monday he
would lower some of the District’s speeding fines
by $25. A fine that was $100 is now $75. There
were similar reductions for other infractions.
But the mayor did raise one fine. He said anyone
going more than 25 miles per hour over the posted
limit would pay $300 instead of $250.
The mayor’s move was designed to head off legislation in the council to reduce speed camera fines
even further. But there was precious little support
for the mayor’s move.
“Most people I talk to are convinced that our
automated traffic enforcement program is mostly
about raising money for the District’s budget,” said
Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells, who is
leading the effort to knock down speed camera tickets to as low as $50. In Maryland, they’re $40.
Wells says there’s no evidence higher fines
equate to safer streets. He says research he has seen
shows that any serious — though more modest —
amount has the same effect.
Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser, who
like Wells is a potential future candidate for mayor,
says neighborhoods suffering from raceway roadways want the cameras and the fines.
Any legislative changes in the city’s speed camera fines are likely months away.
At Monday’s council hearing on the bill —
introduced by Wells, Ward 3’s Mary Cheh and Ward
8’s Marion Barry — several council members,
including Chairman Phil Mendelson, said it’s
important for the city to consider raising the speed
limit on roads that can accommodate faster traffic.
In the District, if there is no speed limit sign present, the speed automatically is set at 25 mph.
Here’s one more consumer note on the speeding
tickets. The reduced fines set by the mayor apply
only to tickets given out since midnight Sunday. If
you have a speed camera ticket prior to that, you
have to pay the fine written on the ticket.
Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4.

TOM SHERWOOD’s

Notebook

Letters to
the Editor
Chevy Chase gave
to Sandy relief

I’m writing a letter to thank
the Chevy Chase community for
its generosity. On Saturday morning, my wife Rosanna, my sons
Demetrius and Marcus and I set
up a table on Connecticut Avenue

near McKinley Street and sold
brownies and cookies to benefit
the American Red Cross’ efforts
on behalf of the victims of
Hurricane Sandy.
The heart of this community
was so apparent in the nickels,
dimes and $20 bills that poured
into our milk carton — and in the
smiles on your faces after making your donations.
We were able to raise
$1,011.03 selling about 100 treats

over three hours, a result we
thought was miraculous. The
kindness and willingness of our
community to help others less
fortunate made this happen. The
money is on its way to the Red
Cross as we speak.
Chevy Chase cares, consistently. Please keep donating
when and what you can. The
need continues.
Gregg DeMammos
Chevy Chase

The Current

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

9

Keeping District streets safe for everyone
mary cheh

I

n the past year, the District government collected
more than $85 million in automated traffic enforcement fines. These were for infractions that ranged
from running red lights to driving 36 mph in a 25 mph
zone. Although traffic violations that endanger the lives
of others should rightly be punished, the penalty should
always fit the offense.
The bill that I introduced to lower automated traffic
enforcement fines was the result of extensive work
done by a group constituted of representatives from the
Metropolitan Police Department, the D.C. Department
of Transportation, AARP-DC, AAA, the Pedestrian
Advisory Council, the pedestrian advisory committee
from the Council on Court Excellence, the Bicycle
Advisory Council, Greater Greater Washington and
other groups, as well as experts from Howard and
American universities. The purpose of the working
group was to chart a course to increase safety for D.C.
residents through the use of automated enforcement.
The empirical evidence presented to us uncovered
the following:
â&#x2013; the current fine structure was crafted to generate revenue â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not to improve safety;
â&#x2013; fines above a certain dollar amount do not correlate
with compliance;
â&#x2013; high fines tend, instead, to produce public outrage
and â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as in Houston â&#x20AC;&#x201D; can lead to efforts to discontinue the use of automated enforcement entirely; and,
â&#x2013; compliance is best achieved through certainty of
enforcement.
Therefore, to maximize safety for District residents,
we concluded that we need more cameras throughout
the city to increase enforcement (and, beginning soon,
we will be deploying cameras to monitor blocking the
box and stopping at stop signs), but also that we need a
fine structure that has legitimacy in the eyes of the public. It must be seen to be â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and must, in fact, be â&#x20AC;&#x201D; fair
and proportionate. Automated systems work best with
strong community support.
Last Friday, the mayor introduced emergency regu-

Letters to
the Editor
Story misrepresented
21st Street project

We would like to respond to The
Currentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oct. 31 article â&#x20AC;&#x153;Projects
would convert houses to apartments.â&#x20AC;? As owners of the property
at 1321 21st St. NW, we were disappointed that we were not contacted prior to publication for comment. This resulted in incorrect
information being printed.
We would like to correct the
record:
â&#x2013; The Dupont Circle advisory
neighborhood commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resolution did NOT oppose our plan.
â&#x2013; The Dupont Circle Conservancy
voted to SUPPORT our proposed
development plan.
â&#x2013; The Historic Preservation Office
has issued a report in SUPPORT of
our proposed development plan. We
are in full compliance with the
cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic preservation guidelines.

lations changing the amount of certain traffic fines.
Under his new scheme, the fine for speeding between
11 and 15 mph over the limit dropped from $125 to
$100 while the fine for driving in excess of 25 mph
over the limit was increased from $250 to $300.
My bill certainly does not propose to reduce all
automated enforcement fines, but it does aim at what
science tells us: lower fines with certainty of enforcement are effective at changing behavior. So, as for
speeding, only the fine for speeding above 11 mph and
under 20 mph over the limit would be reduced by my
bill; it would drop to $50. Maryland prohibits speed
camera fines above $40, and Virginia permits no automated enforcement. Fines for speeds above that would
remain as they were before the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent change,
namely $200 for 21 to 25 mph over the limit and $250
for 26 mph and up. In addition, I insisted that the fine
for red-light running stay where it is. This infraction is
plainly intentional and inherently dangerous and, unlike
speeding, is not subject to variables like downhill placements or road alignments that induce speed-ups (like
Porter Street through Rock Creek Park).
The bill would do more than just reduce fines. It
would require that the Department of Transportation
review current speed limits to ensure that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re based
on engineering and safety and that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not arbitrary
or intended to create traps. It also includes a provision
that would require the agency to craft a study plan to
assess how lower fines affect compliance, and it would
require that a portion of the automated enforcement
program revenue be devoted to expanding the camera
program and other road safety measures.
I held a hearing on this bill on Monday, Nov. 5, and
I will reconvene that hearing next Tuesday, Nov. 13.
My bill, known as the Safety-Based Traffic
Enforcement Amendment Act of 2012 (B19-1013), represents what science and the experts in the field tell us
will make our roads safer and our fine structure fair and
proportional. It reflects a consensus among advocacy
groups for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. And it
removes the focus of traffic enforcement from revenue
generation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; something that inherently causes public
distrust and angst â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to the promotion of safety.
Mary Cheh represents Ward 3 on the D.C. Council.

â&#x2013; Our plans call for a four- to sixunit building, not nine units as
reported. This has been the case in
every conversation with the neighbors and city.
â&#x2013; The addition will create a footprint only slightly larger than that of
the existing town house. The massing is in scale with the existing
neighboring buildings. The new
building will be three stories (the
same as other buildings on the
block) with a true cellar and will
bring the lot coverage into compliance with zoning regulations.
â&#x2013; The referenced petition is outdated; it was collected in the summer
and based on an early â&#x20AC;&#x153;carriage
houseâ&#x20AC;? concept â&#x20AC;&#x201D; long since discarded.
â&#x2013; This block of 21st Street between
N and O streets has 22 buildings.
This is hardly a quiet low-density
street with its eight buildings of
four-plus units, including 34-, 19-,
11- and 10-unit buildings.
â&#x2013; There is a large 10-story apartment building as well as a hotel
across the alley from the project
site. Both are visible from 21st

Street, while this project will not be.
â&#x2013; There is a well-defined process
for community review of projects
in neighborhoods with historic designation. We have participated
wholeheartedly in this review process, presenting at two advisory
neighborhood commission meetings, two Dupont Circle
Conservancy meetings, and a question-and-answer session requested
and hosted by the adjoining neighbor, Don Hagen (which only three
couples attended). Any claim that
our project had not been subject to
the proper community review is
false.
There is support for this project
from the neighborhood, which has
been drowned out. It is unfortunate
that members of the small but vocal
opposition group, who are unhappy
with change and oppose added density in this walkable and close-in
neighborhood, have become the
only voice heard in the discussion
and subverted this process.
Andrew Rubin
Manager,
1321-21st Street Partners LLC

Letters to the editor
The Current publishes letters and Viewpoint submissions representing various points of view. Because of space
limitations, letters should be no more than 400 words and are subject to editing. Letters and Viewpoint submissions
intended for publication should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, The Current, Post Office Box 40400,
Washington, D.C. 20016-0400. You may send email to letters@currentnewspapers.com.

I shook my head in dismay as I
read your Oct. 31 front-page article
“Ward 4 plans to create aging-inplace village.”
Aging-in-place works well for
the healthy. But why does a story
about one option, such as aging-inplace, need to include the uninformed but age-old remarks of politicians and others condemning nursing homes? Would The Current
consider a story on our local nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, whose staff members are
enhancing the quality of life every
day for individuals who cannot live
on their own due to health issues, or
who proactively choose to live in
caring communities rather than in
the isolation of their own homes?
Given the number of people
who are aging, we need many
options for people to choose from
— and nursing homes are the best
option for many. Go visit a nursing
home today and witness the dedicated staff and thriving residents.
Susan Hester
Washington, D.C.

Aging Office helping
Ward 4 village effort

I would like to applaud you for
the Oct. 31 article “Ward 4 plans to
create aging-in-place village.”
Mayor Vincent C. Gray and I are
proponents of programs and services that promote community living
as the first choice for seniors and
persons with disabilities. Villages
allow District residents to age in the
community for as long as possible
with the goal of preventing premature nursing home placement. This
is a humanistic approach as people
would rather remain in their familiar surroundings and maintain their
daily routines.
The establishment of villages
aligns with the D.C. Office on
Aging’s mission, which is to advocate, plan, implement and monitor
programs in health, education,
employment and social services that
promote longevity, independence,
dignity and choice for our senior
citizens.
Through villages, seniors have
options on how they choose to live
in their communities. Villages allow
seniors to maintain their independence and to draw upon the support
of village members to assist them
with the activities of daily living
such as trips to stores and homemaker services and companionship
programs, while maintaining their
independence. Villages are effective
at tackling social isolation as members actively check on each other
and assemble social and educational
events that bring seniors out of their
homes, which promotes longevity.
Based on the enthusiasm and
interest of the Ward 4 residents who
attended the village meeting at
Deborah Royster’s home, I am con-

fident that they will establish their
village in the near future. Our agency’s staff stands ready to provide
technical assistance and will collaborate with them in ensuring that
their village members receive free
information, assistance and referrals
to long-term services and supports.
Again, thank you for raising
awareness about the value of villages in the District of Columbia.
John M. Thompson
Executive Director,
D.C. Office on Aging

EastBanc deal should
concern taxpayers

Advisory neighborhood commissioner Rebecca Coder writes in
defense of the EastBanc scheme to
develop two buildings in the West
End, one of which would include a
new library [“Nader’s appeal goes
against neighborhood,” Letters to
the Editor, Oct. 31]. She seems to
think that West End and Foggy
Bottom residents have a nifty deal
for a private developer to build
them a library.
In fact, the proposed new library
would be heavily subsidized by all
the city’s taxpayers, including many
who are less affluent than the average West End inhabitant. And
EastBanc’s West End plan sets
precedents that would be devastating to the city’s development efforts
in the future.
EastBanc intends to build a
library that, it claims, will cost $10
million. That figure is surely overstated, but even if it isn’t, the company still comes out far ahead. In
exchange for the library, it will
receive publicly owned land worth
between $30 and $80 million. (The
property includes a firehouse that’s
part of this complicated swap.)
Using the lower number, that means
a city subsidy to the project of $20
million. In all likelihood, the value
of the public’s gift to EastBanc
would be substantially higher.
The EastBanc proposal is a
planned-unit development. Under
zoning rules, developers get added
density in exchange for public
“amenities.” EastBanc claims that
the library is this project’s amenity.
But the city, by giving the developer the land, is paying the entire cost
of the library — and more. So the
EastBanc project approved by the
Zoning Commission actually has no
public amenity. This opens the door
to other schemes in which the city
gives added land value to developers and gets nothing in return.
In addition, EastBanc simply
refused to obey the city’s new
inclusionary-housing law. It plans to
build some “affordable” units atop a
new firehouse a few blocks away.
But the company will do that only
if gets an additional $7 million subsidy from the city! And building
lower-cost apartments on another
site does not satisfy the inclusionary-housing law. If EastBanc succeeds in flouting this requirement,
other developers will line up for the
same giveaway.
In short, the EastBanc West End
deal has citywide implications and

should concern anyone who pays
D.C. taxes. The special treatment
that West End and Foggy Bottom
residents think they’re getting is at
the expense of everyone else in the
District.
Kay Marlin
Washington, D.C.

Small businesses
need wide support

City Fitness has been Cleveland
Park’s neighborhood gym since
1993. As a small, independently
owned business and the only woman-owned gym in D.C., we are
proud of this longevity. We believe
that this success is a result of the
great services we provide, our
warm and inviting facility, our
friendly, professional staff, and our
commitment to being a socially
responsible company.
City Fitness is one of the founding members of the Cleveland Park
Business Association, and we were
also one of the original organizers
of the very first Cleveland Park
Day celebration back in 1999. We
have actively participated in the
organizing of the last three
Cleveland Park Day events and
have featured fun, lively fitness
activities in the Park-n-Shop.
As a small business, we rely on
the support of this community for
our livelihood and success.
Therefore, it was with much dismay
when we discovered that Sport &
Health Clubs was provided a table
at this year’s Cleveland Park Day
on Oct. 14 to actively promote its
Tenley gym. While we understand
that this was an oversight on the
part of the organizing committee, it
was still quite troubling for us.
The company’s table was located right on Connecticut Avenue for
all passersby to visit. Even with all
of our activities, we were overshadowed completely by Petco’s adoption area and thus struggled to get
folks down to our corner of the
Park-n-Shop. Being in the far corner and upper level of the shopping
center, we often hear folks tell us
that they have lived in this neighborhood for years and did not know
that we were here. That is why it
was even more dismaying to hear
Cleveland Park residents make
statements to us about matching the
great deals Sport & Health was
offering at its table!
Cleveland Park residents pride
themselves on being part of an intimate community with small businesses, and we are proud to be one
of those businesses. It is important
for residents to understand, however, that being a small business
means that you don’t have the deep
pockets of the big chains, such as,
in our case, Sport & Health or
Gold’s. If this “village in the city” is
to remain so, residents need to support all of the wonderful, small
mom and pop businesses that dot
Connecticut Avenue. It isn’t always
about getting the best deal but more
about supporting this community.
Dega Schembri
Lucinda LaRee
Co-owners, City Fitness Gym

n

Athletics in Northwest Washington

g

November 7, 2012 ■ Page 11

St. Albans
wins IAC in
PK thriller

NCS edges Cubs for ISL

By BRIAN KAPUR
Current Staff Writer

By BRIAN KAPUR
Current Staff Writer

When St. Albans goalkeeper
Luke Duffy was a freshman, the
Bulldogs had a chance to upset thennationally ranked Episcopal on the
soccer pitch. But Duffy wasn’t able
to save a penalty kick, which ultimately cost St. Albans the win.
Duffy, now a senior, called that
miss his “lowest moment” and one
he vowed never to repeat. That
promise was put to the test Friday
when, after 90 minutes of physical
soccer between St. Albans and
Landon, the Interstate Athletic
Conference championship game
went into a penalty-kick shootout.
Despite the pressure of the
moment, Duffy stood tall as he
deflected the first Landon shot and
allowed just one goal on four penalty
kick tries. As a result, the Bulldogs
edged Landon 4-1 in penalty kicks to
secure an unshared IAC title.
“I love [penalty kicks], personally,” said Duffy. “As a senior to have
the team riding on you — it’s a
dream.”
Although the game came down
to a shootout, the Rmatch was phys-

ch

Brian Kapur/The Current

St. Albans senior goalie Luke Duffy, center, allowed just one goal
during the penalty kick shootout Friday.
ical throughout and yielded several
injuries on both sides. Late in the
first half, a Bulldogs player appeared
to be seriously hurt, triggering a call
for an ambulance and a 20-minute
delay. (The school’s athletic director
said this week that the player was
still at home recovering but should
return to school soon.)
With the game deadlocked at
zero the game went into penalty
kicks. During the shooout Duffy
held up his end of the period by
allowing just one goal. On the offen-

sive side of the shootout, St. Albans
junior middie Nick Notaro scored on
the first attempt of the period to put
the Bulldogs ahead. Then freshman
midfielder Chris Fleischer and senior
midfielder Arjan Ganji both converted to put St. Albans ahead 3-0.
St. Albans senior midfielder
Chris Yungu later connected on a
cold-blooded shot to secure the win.
“We felt we were the best team in
the IAC, and we didn’t want to share
with anyone,” said Yungu. “Winning
it outright felt good.”

Matt Petros/The Current

National Cathedral’s soccer team
ended a three year title drought.

Cubs keeper to knot the game at one
and force overtime.
A big reason for the low scoring
was the performance of both goalkeepers. Visitation junior Alexis
Bryant made seven impressive
saves, while Cathedral freshman
Erica Sanders made five stops plus
two deflections during the shootout.
“Erica did a great job,” said
Malagari. “The defense has been
solid all year making sure she doesn’t
have to do too much during the
games.”

GDS rides hot streak to MAC title

Gonzaga soccer
unseats DeMatha
for WCAC title

By BRIAN KAPUR
Current Staff Writer

By CHRIS TREVINO
Current Correspondent

The Washington Catholic Athletic
Conference boys soccer championship came
down to the simplest of choices for Gonzaga
senior goalkeeper Ryan Massey: left or right?
The senior stood firm in the center of the
far side goal, arms outstretched, staring down
DeMatha shooter Austin Read. In the blink of
an eye, Massey chose left, deflecting Read’s
penalty kick and sending the Gonzaga student
section into a frenzy.
“I don’t how he did it,” senior teammate
Conor Smith said. “Getting that block really
meant everything — it meant the game, really.
It came down to that.”
On Sunday night at the Maryland
SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., the Gonzaga
Eagles claimed their 10th WCAC championship by beating DeMatha 5-3 in a penalty kick
shootout.
Massey’s game-changing save came on

When National Cathedral’s soccer team earned a spot in the
Independent School League championship game against Visitation,
several players said they had one
thing on their mind: revenge.
The Eagles knew they had a
chance to redeem last year’s championship loss and snap a three-year
drought of title game losses. But
they didn’t know they would end up
in the exact same scenario they faced
a season ago — penalty kicks against
Visitation to decide the ISL champion at Episcopal in Alexandria.
This time, the Eagles flipped the
script, soaring past the Cubs 7-6 on
junior Hallie Horvath’s game-winner to take the ISL tournament
crown.
“The game was huge for the
girls,” said first-year Eagles coach
Danielle Malagari. “We set goals in
the beginning of the year to win the
tournament. They were determined
to finally win one after leaving empty-handed the previous three years.”
But just getting to overtime and
penalty kicks required some heroics.
Visitation sophomore Taylor
Kirchgessner scored early in the
game to put the Cubs ahead 1-0. The
Eagles, meanwhile, couldn’t get on
the board until nearly the end of the
game. Cathedral sophomore forward
Rubii Tamen fired the ball past the

Matt Petros/The Current

Gonzaga won its first WCAC soccer title
since 2009 by beating DeMatha Sunday.

DeMatha’s first penalty kick of the shootout,
reclaiming the momentum the Eagles had held
most of the night. While Massey didn’t record
another block, he didn’t need to, as his teammates buried all five of their attempts.
When senior Nicholas Corriveau converted
the fifth kick, the Eagles broke off into a sprint
See Gonzaga/Page 13

After cruising to the Mid-Atlantic
Conference boys soccer tournament championship last season, Georgetown Day School
came into this year with a target on its back.
The Hoppers have since endured a tough
regular season in which some of their top contributors missed time with injury and every
MAC team took its best shot at the defending
champions. The result was the lowest seed in
this year’s tournament.
But when the final whistle of the MAC
championship game blew at Sidwell yesterday
evening, it was the Hoppers who stood tall as
back-to-back champions, after beating the
Sidwell Quakers 2-1.
“It’s special. There’s nothing like it —
especially showing them up on this field,” said
senior goalie Will Feldman.
Despite being the tournament’s underdogs,
the Hoppers had shown signs that they were
capable of this championship run, said
Georgetown Day assistant coach Harold
Newton. The team had gotten healthy and won
its last four regular-season games to come into
the playoffs red-hot.
See GDS/Page 13

Matt Petros/The Current

The Hoppers won their last four regular
season games to enter the MAC playoffs
as one of the hottest teams in the league.

12 Wednesday, November 7, 2012

n

ch

g

The Current

Northwest Sports
Nancy Feldman, a long time DC resident and community leader,
formed her law firm 15 years ago for the benefit of people facing
important life issues.
Year-end Legal Help. Thinking about updating documents
or creating new ones, before the holidays arrive? Schedule an
appointment and cross this project off your to-do list! Work
with an attentive, knowledgeable advisor for your legal needs.

When Wilson junior soccer player Jonah Gigli was
asked earlier this season about the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prospects in
the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association, he was
confident and clear. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This year weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to take it
home,â&#x20AC;? he told The Current last month.
On Saturday, the junior made his prediction come
true by hitting the winning penalty kick as the team
captured the DCIAA championship, beating Bell 4-2.
Gigliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move ended the penalty-kick shootout that followed a 2-2 tie in regulation and stalemate in overtime.
But the road to the conference championship was
tarnished by a melee that broke out during the Tigersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
semifinal match against Roosevelt Friday night at
Wilson. According to a police report and witness

accounts, players got tangled and shoving escalated to
punches and a bench-clearing brawl. The police report
also indicated that a player needed an ambulance after
he was hit. The player was taken to the emergency
room but released that night.
The fracas forced the game to end with Wilson
ahead 2-0 and 20 minutes on the clock. According to an
email from the Wilson administration, a referee accused
a Roosevelt coach of punching one of the game officials.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We certainly have requested for there to be some
changes [to security] even prior to this incident,â&#x20AC;? D.C.
athletic director Stephanie Evans said Monday afternoon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this point I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a definitive answer as
to whether it will happen or not. I certainly hope that it
would.â&#x20AC;?
The championship game took place without incident
Saturday.

WIS boys and girls take PVAC soccer crowns
$"!
$"%
"
!"

By BRIAN KAPUR
Current Staff Writer

Washington
International
Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s boys soccer team dominated the Potomac Valley Athletic
Conference postseason for two
straight seasons â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until Sandy
Spring halted the Red Devilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reign
last year in the title game.
But in a championship rematch
Thursday at the Maryland
SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., the Red
Devils avenged that loss and captured their third PVAC postseason
title in four years by topping Sandy
Spring 1-0.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;This â&#x20AC;Ś win means a lot because
the PVAC split this year into [two
divisions]. â&#x20AC;Ś [Our] division is a
very tight, very even and very competitive league. There are no easy
wins,â&#x20AC;? said Washington International
coach James Martin.
The Red Devils scored the only
goal of the game when senior wing
Yonathan Dawit drove the ball
through a slew of defenders and

dished it to senior Steven Lofton,
who redirected it into the goal.
On
defense,
Washington
International junior goalie Thomas
Fix anchored the unit and came
away with five saves.
Next, the squad will be part of the
newly formed D.C. state playoff
tournament this week.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re most excited now by the
prospect of competing for the D.C.
state championship,â&#x20AC;? said Martin.

WIS girls net three-peat

Washington International School
senior captain Catherine Tanner has
become accustomed to winning the
PVAC girls soccer championship.
The Red Devils took the last two
league titles outright, and the senior
wanted to finish her high school
career with a three-peat.
During Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conference
championship game in Boyds, Md.,
the captain delivered the only goal of
the game, scoring on a rocket shot
that arced over the Sandy Spring
keeper to propel the Red Devils to a

WIS volleyball falls to Covenant Life in
PVAC championship game Monday

The Red Devils hoped to end their Potomac Valley
Athletic Conference volleyball championship losing
streak to Covenant Life Monday night. But the squad
never found its rhythm and lost the first two sets of the
contest. The team rebounded by winning the third
game, but Covenant Life stopped the rally and ended
the match in the fourth set with a 3-1 win over the Red
Devils.

Wilson girls take DCIAA soccer title

The Wilson girls soccer team won the D.C.
Interscholastic Athletic Association championship
Saturday. The Tigers beat School Without Walls 4-2 to
capture their fourth straight conference title. Senior
midfielder Isabel Albee fired in a set kick to put
Wilson ahead 1-0. Then, right before halftime, sophomore Camryn Mackey scored to put the Tigers ahead
2-0 at the break.
Walls rallied in the second half and scored two

Matt Petros/The Current

The Red Devils ruled the
Maryland SoccerPlex Thursday.

1-0 title win.
With one goal on the board,
keeper Sophie Whitehouse went to
work making a slew of important
saves to preserve the score. The
sophomore and the defense allowed
only seven goals in 12 conference
games this year.

goals, but Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Laniyah Elam scored on a cross
and Albee put the game out of reach with a goal on an
assist from freshman midfielder Kaili Gregory.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is my third season with Wilson. ... We expect
to win DCIAA every year,â&#x20AC;? said Tigers coach Joanna
Gomez. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have set standards and expectations to be
competitive not only with other public schools but all
teams in our area.â&#x20AC;?

St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, the defending Washington Catholic
Athletic Conference girls soccer champions, never
had a chance to protect their crown this year: They fell
to Bishop Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell 5-1 in the second round of the
WCAC tournament Thursday. Senior Liz Parks had
the Cadetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only goal of the contest.

The Current

GONZAGA: Eagles win WCAC
From Page 11

to mob Corriveau â&#x20AC;&#x201D; sliding on
stomachs and knees before celebrating with the Gonzaga student section. The students pushed so hard on
the stadium rails that a section collapsed and a wall of students fell
onto the newly crowned champions.
The collapse led to minor injuries,
including a possible broken ankle,
which required an ambulance.
The Eagles had started the game
aggressively and pressed the Stags.
Despite the consistent pressure
from the Eagles, neither team could
muster a goal by halftime.
After the break, Gonzaga snapped
the scoreless evening in the first 20
seconds of the half. On DeMathaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
first touch of the period â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a pass
back from midfield â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Eagles
pressed hard and stole the ball.
Senior wing Sean Griffith then sent a
high pass into the box, where Smith
redirected it into the goal.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I saw the ball bounce once and
then I turned onto my left foot and
put it in the net,â&#x20AC;? Smith said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We

just went crazy.â&#x20AC;?
With a one-goal lead, the Eagles
kept pressuring the Stagsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; defense,
coming close to pushing their lead to
two. But in the 65th minute the
physicality of the game burned
Gonzaga, as Eagles junior Chase
Gasper and the Stagsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Julian Dove
got tangled up chasing a ball out of
bounds. The two players started jawing at one another as they got to their
feet, and shoving ensued. Gasper
was issued a red card and ejected.
The incident forced the Eagles to
play a man down for the remainder
of the match, and in the 70th minute
DeMatha took advantage and knotted the game at one to force overtime. But neither team could break
through during two extra periods as
exhaustion set in.
The Eagles regained control of
the game during penalty kicks.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been talking about this
game all year,â&#x20AC;? Massey said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We
knew we would be here and we
knew [they] would be here, so we
just came out and trusted our ability.â&#x20AC;?

n

ch

g

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

13

GDS: Hoppers go from underdogs to champions
From Page 11

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had a couple of injuries, and
I think in the long run it helped us
because people got a lot of [playing]
time,â&#x20AC;? said Newton.
The Hoppers scored early in the
game and seized momentum when
senior forward Adam Glaser blasted
the ball into the goal from nearly 20
yards out.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been doing it all tournament â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we scored early â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and it

really gave us confidence as the
underdogs in this tournament,â&#x20AC;? said
Glaser.
While Georgetown Dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offense
made early fireworks, Feldman and
the defense stonewalled the Quakers.
The senior finished with 16 saves.
The Hoppers took their 1-0 lead
into halftime. During the break,
senior midfielder Michael Eppler,
who missed a slew of games while
recovering from a knee injury, told
Glaser, â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you get the ball out

there, look up and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see me
streaking [toward the goal].â&#x20AC;?
That situation presented itself 10
minutes into play, when Glaser
dished the ball to Eppler, who drilled
it into the goal. The play gave
Georgetown Day an insurance goal
and a 2-0 lead.
Sidwell scored a goal with less
than four minutes left, but it was
only a momentary hiccup before
Georgetown Day and its fans rushed
the field to celebrate the win.

Great times. Good friends. People who care.
Distinctive retirement living.
1SJWBUF4VJUFTt'JOF%JOJOHt4PDJBM$VMUVSBM"DUJWJUJFT
$IBVÄ&#x152;FVSFE4FEBOt"TTJTUFE-JWJOH4FSWJDFTt/P&OUSBODF'FF

The Georgetown

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/8
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Call us for a tour: 202-338-6111
ASSISTED LIVING FOR INDEPENDENT PEOPLE

14 Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Current

Spotlight on Schools
British School
of Washington

In Year Five we have been learning about fairgrounds and roller
coasters in our International
Primary Curriculum work. At the
end of this topic we are going to
build model roller coasters that
work.
But before we can do that, we
had to learn about gravity and the
forces that are at work during the
ride. Some of the forces we have
been learning about are gravity,
centripetal force, momentum and
centrifugal force.
We have also been learning
about magnetism and electricity. I
really enjoyed experimenting with
the electric circuits and seeing how
the lights turn on and the buzzers
buzz. After that we experimented
with switches in circuits.

School DISPATCHES

In a different session we investigated how friction works. Each
group had to choose which variable
to change to conduct the experiment. My group changed the surface and went around the school to
see what different surfaces we could
find. We investigated whether it had
lots of friction or very little friction.
Then we learned how to record our
results in a scientific table.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ellie Wilson,
Year 5 Chicago (fourth-grader)

Eaton Elementary

In third grade we have been
studying Washington, D.C. We
learned about the monuments and
memorials and their history.
To start, we looked at pictures

and built models of some monuments with Legos, Lincoln Logs
and Magna-Tiles. In small groups,
we looked up fun facts about specific buildings. For example, the
Washington Monument is 555 feet
tall. We made posters with the
information and presented them to
the class.
An architect came and talked to
us about D.C. architecture. He
explained that the architecture of
the monuments is similar to Greek
and Roman architecture.
After that, we went on a bus tour
of the monuments. We visited the
Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln
Memorial, the Franklin Delano
Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial. From the
bus, we also saw the White House,
the Capitol, Union Station and lots
of museums.
We also did photo mosaics. We
chose one monument and then
researched it. We had to find out
things like when it was built, who it
was named after, what building
materials were used, where it is and
what you can see from it. We went
to All Fired Up and learned how to
make mosaics. When they are done,
we will display our research and
mosaics to show all that we learned
about D.C. monuments.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Lilah Genachowski,
Faith Heffernan, Ava Koerner and
Zoe Ogbebor, third-graders

This year, I had the privilege of
being elected as a grade representative for Burkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Student
Government Association, which
plans, helps with and organizes a
variety of things at Burke. All voices of the school are heard.
The association includes two

representatives from each grade and
two presidents. The grade representatives are elected at the end of the
school year, and then serve during
the next school year. The sixth- and
eighth-grade students elect only one
representative at that time, because
class size almost doubles between
sixth and seventh grades and eighth
grade and ninth grades. This
ensures that new students as well as
old students get a say in things.
The presidents are elected by the
whole school. Only juniors and
seniors can run for president. Once
elected, they can choose whether to
be co-presidents or president and
vice president. Once all the representatives and the presidents are
chosen, they choose a secretary and
a treasurer.
The student government helps
with a lot of things around Burke.
Members help run schoolwide
assemblies. We meet twice every
seven days. On one of the days,
everyone talks together. We discuss
possible projects (selling scarves,
new ways to receive suggestions)
and look at student suggestions. We
also review clubsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; funding requests
for projects and trips. The other day
we meet, we split into three committees.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Aviva Nemeth, eighth-grader

Field School

Last week was a very short week
because of Hurricane Sandy.
Luckily, the Field community was
still able to celebrate Halloween.
Every year at Field, students are
encouraged to dress up and take
part in a Halloween costume contest. This tradition started when we
moved to our current campus.
Students gather outside, while participants parade down the long

stairs from our main building. The
first- through third-place winners
receive iTunes gift cards.
This year the winners included
Evan Salerno, dressed as Justin
Bieber, for third place; Sam Sallick,
dressed as an iPhone 5, for second
place; and Katie Villanueva and
Danielle Donnally, for the grand
first place. They dressed as a pun on
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Taco Bellâ&#x20AC;?: One was a taco, and
the other was Belle from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beauty
and the Beast.â&#x20AC;? Tom and Claire
Tenhula received an honorable
mention for their â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rock and Rollâ&#x20AC;?
costumes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; dressing as a literal
rock and a crescent roll. Oskar
Augustsson also received an honorable mention for his hometown
spirit. He dressed as a Viking.
To conclude the festivities every
year, the middle school music class
performs Halloween songs. This
year the class covered â&#x20AC;&#x153;Monster
Mash,â&#x20AC;? originally performed by
Bobby â&#x20AC;&#x153;Borisâ&#x20AC;? Pickett and The
Crypt-Kickers.
The fall sports season for middle-schoolers officially ended with a
championship cross-country meet at
Covenant Life. Eighth-grader Wells
Thomason won first place in the
middle school boys two-mile race.
Students are starting their winter
sports this week.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Maddie Williams, sixth-grader,
and Jana Cohen and
Lila Bromberg, eighth-graders

Georgetown Day School

Last week students did not go to
school on Monday or Tuesday
because of Hurricane Sandy.
Students at the lower/middle school
returned on Wednesday in time for
the annual Halloween parade.
Parent-teacher conferences took
See Dispatches/Page 15

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Beginning is the Most Important Part of the Workâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Plato
Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School
invites you to attend an Admissions Open House:
Tuesday, October 30 at 9:15am
Sunday, November 11 at 1:00pm
Wednesday, December 5 at 9:15am
Register for our Open Houses and Tours online at
www.beauvoirschool.org or call 202-537-6493
3500 Woodley Road, NW Âˇ Washington, DC 20016 Âˇ www.beauvoirschool.org

The Current

DISPATCHES
From Page 14
place last Thursday and Friday, so
students at the lower/middle school
were treated to a one-day week.
Halloween festivities at the high
school were postponed until Friday,
when a celebration took place at
lunchtime.
The fall season is coming to a
close for student-athletes at the high
school.
The boys varsity cross-country
team renewed its Mid-Atlantic
Athletic Conference championship
title, the boys junior varsity crosscountry team finished in first place,
and the freshman/sophomore team
also finished in first place! The boys
team had 13 runners finish in the
top 10 of their respective races, with
Griffin Colaizzi, Zeke Cohen and
Gorka Fraeters all finishing first in
their races!
The girls team clenched third
place in the varsity Independent
School League championship race,
which is the best placement in
school history! They were led by
Katherine Treanor, Naomi Miller
and Julia Ernst, who all finished in
the top 10. In addition, the girls
junior varsity team finished in
fourth place.
In soccer, the boys varsity team
defeated St. Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the first
round of the MAC tournament and
will play Maret in the semifinals.
In volleyball, the girls varsity

team defeated Maret in the first
round of the ISL volleyball tournament and will play Madeira in the
semifinals. The junior varsity volleyball team finished the season
with 15 wins and five losses.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Carlton Marshall II, 11th-grader

Hardy Middle School

At Hardy Middle School, we
had a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. I was part of the planning
committee, and we worked hard
preparing for the festival. We practiced intensively every day during
lunch and after school. Ms. Garcia
directed the program and helped
make the show enjoyable.
The day of the celebration, we
performed poems, showed important people, sang and danced. It was
a great experience and showed people how Hispanic culture influences
our world.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Daniela Orellana, eighth-grader

tracked down was Ms. Laure
Hunter, one of the fifth-grade teachers that year.
I learned that the mobile was
specifically built for our atrium and
the swirly shapes and colors are
meant to represent what the fifthgraders thought of Janney.
Then custodial foreman Mr.
Jason Lawrence told me one of the
most interesting facts about the
mobile that I learned through this
journey â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how you clean it! What
you do is take a long pole with a
hook on the end to the second floor,

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
pull each piece up gently and then
dust it off.
Finally I interviewed Ms. Mary
Osterman, another one of the fifthgrade teachers from the 2010-2011
school year. She told me that the
mobile had been stored in multiple
parts over the summer. When it was
brought in, a special lift was used
and Mr. Reese gently hooked it into
the ceiling.
You can visit Kevin Reeseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
website at schoolsculptures.com to
learn more about his work.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jared Cohen, fourth-grader

Lafayette Elementary

Last week, Lafayetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 107 thirdgraders each received a paperback
dictionary from the local Kiwanis
Club. This scene was repeated all
over the country as third-graders
received Websterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dictionary for
Students, Fourth Edition, from local
service clubs.
So, why in this modern world of
smartphones and computers do people still need a dictionary?
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dictionaries are a resource for
students to check vocabulary, spellSee Dispatches/Page 16

A mobile with all different
shapes, sizes and colors hangs in
the atrium at Janney Elementary
School.
The mobile is a wonder for all. It
was made two years ago by the fifth
grade under the guidance of sculptor and former Janney parent Kevin
Reese. I went on a mission to find
out how it got there.
As a top-notch detective, I started with the former fifth-grade
teachers, because they had firsthand
knowledge. The first person I

DISPATCHES
From Page 15
ing and grammar during writing,â&#x20AC;?
said Ms. Blake Yedwab, a thirdgrade teacher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To write well, kids
need to use every possible tool they
can. Having a personal dictionary is
a great idea.â&#x20AC;?
Mr. Vince Bzdek, a Washington
Post editor, helped distribute the
dictionaries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can have so
much fun with a dictionary,â&#x20AC;? he told
students as he challenged them to
find the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longest word. (Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
too long to write here, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a scientific word near the back.)
Lafayetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reading specialist,
Ms. Kathy Echave, enjoys the dictionary so much that if she could
have only one book to read while
stranded on a deserted island, she
would choose a dictionary. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the
only book that you wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t grow
tired of,â&#x20AC;? she said.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Abigail Evans and Zoe
Friedman, third-graders

Lowell School

Last week, Lowell Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sev-

enth-graders went on a field trip to
one of the bloodiest places in history: Antietam. We were studying the
Civil War, and our teacher wanted
us to see this battlefield where so
many Americans were killed or
wounded in one day.
When we were there, a ranger
told us about the battle. We also
learned how spies sent secret information with decoders, and we got a
chance to use signal flags to send
messages to our classmates stationed across a field.
Many of the seventh-graders
said they had a fun time on the field
trip and after weeks of learning
about the Civil War and the
Emancipation Proclamation, visiting Antietam made what happened
more clear to us.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jack Pecau, seventh-grader

St. Annâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Academy

Last Friday, St. Annâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Academy
celebrated Halloween with a party
and parade. We enjoyed the party
because we could get our faces
painted to match our costumes. The
students showed true creativity in
their costume selections. Once

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again the eighth-grade class set up a
haunted house in our library. The
eighth-graders did a great job
spooking us in the younger grades.
We cannot wait to do it again next
year.
The first grade got in the
Halloween spirit when we created
scary stories with our fourth-grade
buddies. We were assigned characters and settings at random and then
had to create stories that would fit
our scenarios, such as werewolves
on the moon or zombies at a museum. We came up with some great
stories. It was a lot of fun to work
with our older buddies in creating
stories.
We also got to carve pumpkins
with the kindergartners. We enjoyed
scooping out pumpkin guts and then
counting all the seeds inside our
pumpkin. We learned how to count
seeds by fives and tens.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Arianna Lindenberg,
Amelia Richer and
William Howze, first-graders

St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal
Day School

In preparation for Halloween,
seventh- and eighth-grade students
on the MacArthur campus took
charge of several projects around
the premises. Under the guidance of
the Student Leadership Council,
volunteer decorating groups took to
the halls for the occasion. Other students constructed this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s haunted house, which transformed the
schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s library and art room into a
full-fledged house of horrors that
featured a zombie and a bowl full of
brains, among other scary things!
The haunted house is only one of

the projects that will be taken on
this year by the Student Leadership
Council, an elected body whose primary purposes include representing
St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to other schools and
planning school projects.
In addition to decorating for
Halloween, the MacArthur campus
is busy giving back to the community through a coin drive for
UNICEF and a canned food drive
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; sponsored by the Community
Service Club â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which will gather
goods for the Capital Area Food
Bank. The Community Service
Club, an all-school volunteer group
that plans activities to serve communities both in and out of school,
plans to hold three canned food
drives this year.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Charlie Hawkings, eighth-grader

School Without Walls

Last week at Walls, we had a
three-day school week. Hurricane
Sandy hit the D.C. area late Sunday
night, and the rain continued until
Tuesday morning. To be safe,
Schools Chancellor Kaya
Henderson and Mayor Vincent
Gray closed the schools on Monday
and Tuesday.
Many students at Walls were
worried because during the last natural disaster our school got damaged and the necessary repairs took
about six months. When the earthquake hit in 2011, the building
shook so hard that some of the mortar in our decorative chimney atop
the school was loosened and bricks
fell from the rooftop. We relocated
to another school for two days,
while construction employees
worked to remove any immediate

CHOOSE LANDON. FOR EXCELLENCE.

In Academics, the Arts, Character Education and Athletics.

danger the bricks posed. During
Hurricane Sandy, our school luckily
had only a bit of minor water damage from the storm.
In other news, many sports
teamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; seasons are coming to an
end. The girls and boys soccer
teams advanced to the playoffs, and
the field hockey team finished its
season against the only other D.C.
Public School team, Wilson High
School. The volleyball team has a
game against Wilson on Nov. 6.
Recently the debate team did
especially well in the Urban Debate
League Competition, winning more
than 21 out of 24 rounds it participated in.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Eleonore Edgell, 11th-grader

Sheridan School

On Oct. 25, the third grade went
on a science field trip to Breezy
Point in Calvert County, Md. Once
there, we hunted for and identified
fossilized sharkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teeth, did an
archaeological dig and learned
about the weathering and erosion
along the shore.
Everyone found teeth. We were
able to identify some of them as
lemon and sand tiger sharks. These
sharks died millions of years ago
and lived there to eat baby whales.
We used a science journal to help us
identify the types of teeth. A good
strategy for finding them is to gently skim the top layer of sand. We
knew they were fossilized because
they were dark in color and a real
sharkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teeth would be white.
At the archaeological dig we dug
up artifacts from a grid. Then we
recorded where we found them. We
could predict some of the resources
people had by what was buried. We
have been studying artifacts in
social studies, so we will put that
information to good use.
Along the shore we saw how the
waves and sand weathered the
rocks. We found sea glass that had
been polished smooth. Using a calculator, we estimated how many
waves came ashore during a day, a
month and a year. It was windy
See Dispatches/Page 17

DISPATCHES
From Page 16
along the shore.
We also found fish bones, parts
of a horseshoe crab and jellyfish.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Third-graders

Sidwell Friends School

Sidwell Friends Middle School
drama presents Bill Massoliaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
adaptation of Andrew Clementsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frindle.â&#x20AC;?
Nobody likes homework â&#x20AC;&#x201D; do
they? Fifth-grader Niki Allen (the
most devious kid at Lincoln
Elementary) sure doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. A plan to
stop her teacher, Mrs. Granger, from
giving her any more homework
backfires and Niki must prepare an
oral report on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Words and Their
Originsâ&#x20AC;? for the class. This sparks
the idea of making up a new word
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a pen is no longer a pen; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a
â&#x20AC;&#x153;frindleâ&#x20AC;?!
Unfortunately, Nikiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun with
words draws unwelcome attention
from Mrs. Granger, Nikiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents
and school authorities. Use of the
word â&#x20AC;&#x153;frindleâ&#x20AC;? spreads through the
country like wildfire, and Niki is
locked in a battle with Mrs. Granger
as to which word will dominate.
Who will win the battle?
Public performances will be held
on Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m., and
Saturday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. in the
Middle School Drama Studio.
Admission is free, but reservations
are recommended by calling 202537-8150.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Sarah Brodnax and
Julian Cividanes, seventh-graders

Stoddert Elementary

Hi, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Claire and for
Halloween I dressed up as a mermaid for the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parade and for
trick or treating. My costume was
white, blue, green, purple and gold.
It was fun walking around the
block.
Hi, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Aiden and I dressed up
as a Bionicle. I was a superhero. I
had a shield on the front of my costume. It had a laser beam. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

17

have a lot of choices at Toys â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Râ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Us
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too many costumes
left. Somebody on my block when
trick-or-treating gave me a twofoot-long car! I got to sword fight
and to play â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pirates of the
Caribbean.â&#x20AC;? In class we had cupcakes and marshmallows. We also
played Hello Judge, where you put
your head down and people disguise their voices and you guess
who it is.
Hi, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Ares and I was a Power
Ranger. We protect the world. Gold
was on my costume. It had a mask,
too. My name was on the top of the
helmet. In class we had gummy
bears, cupcakes and cookies. We
played catch. We walked in the
school parade. We got to show off
our costumes to everyone we hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t
seen. I went trick-or-treating in my
grandpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neighborhood near my
old school.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ares Brown and Aiden Nurse,
first-graders, and Clair Conniff,
second-grader

Washington Latin Public
Charter School

Washington Latin is working
with the D.C. government to negotiate a 25-year lease for Rudolph
Elementary, a 75,000-square-foot
building at 5200 2nd St. NW, with
the aim that it will be the permanent
residence for the school beginning
in the 2013-2014 school year. The
building was first awarded to
Washington Latin in mid-July by
the city. There will be an option to
renew the lease for 25 more years.
Rudolph will house both the
middle and upper schools, which
will enroll approximately 650 students. The school currently leases
three separate buildings for grades
five through 12. The design for the
new campus features four science
labs, a new gym, an outdoor sports
field and a large multipurpose/lunch
room. There is even the possibility
of a library, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the forum,â&#x20AC;?
with glass walls that will give a
view of the fields and gardens.
Renovations will begin in 2013.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Cuneyt Dil, 11th-grader

Not available in all areas. Restrictions apply. XFINITY WiFi is only included for XFINITY Internet Performance
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locations only. Call 1-800-XFINITY for details. ÂŠ2012 Comcast. All rights reserved.

Schools set to receive upgrades
include H.D. Cooke Elementary and
the Columbia Heights Educational
Campus in Ward 1, as well as 30

other schools in wards 5, 7 and 8.
Council members had fewer concerns about the additional local dollars for charter schools, noting that
charter leaders often complain they
don’t get the same level of funding

— for operations or facilities — as
traditional public schools.
But some members argued that
any surplus city dollars should go
first to a “wish list” of unfunded
priorities created by the council and

Gray last spring. The wish list
included social and human service
programs, such as assistance for the
homeless and children living in poverty — groups hard hit by budget
cuts during the recession. “We

already have priorities. They are in
the law,” Catania said.
Catania and Bowser voted no on
the funding shifts, and Marion Barry
of Ward 8 was absent. The rest voted
to support the proposal.

called it “an important example of mid-century
Modern architecture,” built in what was still an
“architecturally conservative city.”
Kim Williams, the city’s landmark expert,
told the board that a survey of midcentury
buildings “confirms that the Wire Building
was groundbreaking,” one of the first “in what
would become a major wave of post-World
War II commercial development” downtown.
The board’s action left Pembroke Real
Estate and its attorneys in an awkward position. The Boston-based management and
development firm had filed for a raze permit in
August. But shortly before the review board
hearing, the firm asked to delay consideration
of the raze application until January.
With a landmark vote imminent, board
member Andrew Aurbach asked if Pembroke
wanted to object, noting the board “usually
doesn’t nominate over the owner’s objection.”
“This is the only time to object, and we are
not objecting,” said Carolyn Brown,
Pembroke’s attorney.
But she also called noted local architect

Shalom Baranes as a witness. Baranes argued
that the building, with its open floor plan and
outmoded mechanical systems, would be
almost impossible to renovate.
“Frankly, the building presents challenges
for preservation,” Baranes testified. A “very
unique” heating and cooling system that left
out ductwork had failed, he said, and any
attempt to add a modern system between the
building’s floors would leave ceiling heights
too low to be marketable, he said. “While a
fascinating attempt, it did not work. It’s an
enormous challenge to renovate.”
David Maloney, head of the city’s preservation office, objected, positing that the mechanical system of the Wire Building isn’t unique.
“Another example is the Third Church of
Christ,” he said, referencing the controversial
Brutalist church on 16th Street that the congregation has been trying to demolish for years, in
part because members say it’s impossible to
heat, cool or keep lighted. “The issue of the
ease of rehabilitating the building is not part of
this [landmark] application,” Maloney added.
The Wire Building was designed by prolific local architect Alvin Aubinoe for Preston

Wire, a real estate developer whose business
offices occupied the second floor. According to
a report by Williams, the new building immediately won acclaim for its “sleek Modern
aesthetic, its flexible floor space, and use of
new materials and modern technology.”
One board member was skeptical of the
building’s significance. “This is skating on the
edge,” said Graham Davidson. “It is a midcentury modern building. Is it good enough to be
landmarked? I’m sort of on the fence.” Graham
ended up casting the sole “no” vote.
Member Maria Casarella supported the
landmarking as “an intact example of modernism,” but then noted that Aubinoe was “sort of
a second-tier architect.”
Meanwhile, Pembroke, which also owns
major office buildings at 1201 New York Ave.
NW and 1801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW as well
as in several foreign cities, is figuring out what
to do.
The firm bought the Wire Building in 2008
for $40 million, D.C. tax records show, at the
same time it acquired an adjacent older building at 1010 Vermont Ave. for $22 million. The
original plan, presented to local groups and

confirmed by the company, was to renovate
the older building while razing the Wire
Building to create what Pembroke official
David Lucy called “an exceptional new development.”
The plan was to “enhance the property,”
with a “more efficient and modern building for
1000 Vermont, and to retain the façade of
1010,” a company spokesperson told The
Current.
Then came the landmark application, filed
by the D.C. Preservation League in 2010, and
one of several pending for buildings in what
was once the city’s early-20th-century “financial district.” The Pembroke spokesperson said
the action took his firm by surprise. “We didn’t
realize it could be landmarked,” he said, noting
that Pembroke has not previously dealt with
the D.C. preservation board.
Now, Pembroke is “reviewing our options,”
the spokesperson said. One is to seek a raze
permit and after the board turns it down — as
required by its law — appeal to the Mayor’s
Agent for Historic Preservation, who could
allow demolition on grounds of economic
hardship or as a “project of special merit.”

We’re Excited! Welcome to Spring Valley!
With the acquisition of Randall Hagner Residential, W.C. & A.N. Miller, a Long & Foster Company,
is excited to welcome top producing associates Marjorie Dick Stuart and Bill Stuart, along with other
highly-experienced Hagner sales agents.

Adriana Steel

Allen Tomlinson

Teddy Sonner

Mary Clancy

Brian Press

Douglas Mossman

Richard Kendall

Jearline Willams

Bill Stuart, Marjorie Dick Stuart, & Michael Seay
Kathryn Purchase

Not Pictured: Jimmy Edgerton & Michael Simmons

Mark Wise

The combined forces of these two great real estate legacies create a powerful synergy for both agents successfully
growing their businesses and for customers experiencing legendary professionalism, service and results!

ashington Harbour is
seeing a burst of activity
these days, with an anticipated ice-skating rink opening soon

ON THE MARKET
Carol BuCkley

and the Georgetown Waterfront
Park funneling loads of pedestrians
toward the complexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s riverfront
shopping and dining.
The best part of all that activity
for Washington Harbour resident
Joan Laflam? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there when she
wants it â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and imperceptible when
she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hear any of it,â&#x20AC;? Laflam
said on one of her two terraces.
They face west â&#x20AC;&#x201D; for â&#x20AC;&#x153;amazing
sunsets,â&#x20AC;? she said â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to the park,
Key Bridge and the Potomac River.
Even the complexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rooftop pool,
which can be spied from one terrace, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add a soundtrack to
Laflamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serene, two-bedroom
penthouse.
Sporting new hardwood floors,
the 2,400-square-foot unit has an
open-plan living/dining room that
vies with those impressive views
for visitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attention. Anchored by
a wood-burning fireplace with a
limestone mantel, the space is gra-

cious and ideal for entertaining.
A sizable, marble-floored foyer
welcomes guests and connects to a
powder room with a vessel sink and
a dramatically luxe wallcovering.
Wise buyers will consider snagging elements of this interior for
their own use; many of the furnishings, including an L-shaped sofa
and a sweeping curve of a banquette, were custom-made for the
space.
But even without those pieces,
strong design elements will remain.
Chief among those is the repeated
use of birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-eye maple, found here
on built-ins next to the fireplace and
the flat-panel television that conveys with the home. The warm, tactile wood reappears nearby on a wet
bar and large kitchen island that
offers loads of prep space and a
spot for visitors to perch.
The kitchen is high-design and
features names like Miele and
SubZero, but the space is clearly
not just for show. Open glass shelving keeps oft-used ingredients at
hand, and a serious, 48-inch GE gas
range is a cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream. Bulky
appliances are tucked away, keeping the look open and airy.
Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no lack of storage space,
though â&#x20AC;&#x201D; here or throughout the
home. A very large pantry has been

Carol Buckley/The Current

This 2,400-square-foot penthouse unit at 3030 K St. on
the Georgetown waterfront is priced at $1,395,000.
kitted out with Metro shelving and
includes the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s washer and
dryer. A door leads to a systems
room that offers even more storage
space.
Next to the kitchen, a service
door and back hallway mean that
caterers can come and go unseen.
That hallway is lined with storage
closets, including one that holds
controls for the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smart-house
technology, which allows electronics throughout the home to operate
wirelessly.
The penthouse is the only one in
the complex that has two levels.

SELLING THE AREAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FINEST PROPERTIES

The living room and kitchen sit on
the ground floor, as does a roomy
master suite. A sizable bedroom
leads to a marble-clad master bath
featuring a spa tub and separate
shower. The luxurious spot also
shows the reach of the unitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wholehouse stereo system: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even
a speaker in the shower,â&#x20AC;? Laflam
said with a laugh.
On the opposite side of the bedroom, the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;seye maple reappears on a built-in

credenza that leads to his-and-hers
walk-in closets.
Upstairs, the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second bedroom has been kitted out in the
same wood, which covers the builtin fittings of a home office and a
custom-built Murphy bed and storage system that will remain in the
home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want it to look
like a bedroom,â&#x20AC;? explains Laflam,
and indeed the space functions well
as a home office-cum-family room
See Condo/Page 20

while offering a comfortable spot for
guests.
The unitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second terrace waits
here, offering guests another retreat.
A wet bar with a refrigerator is a
useful guest-room feature. The
upstairs bath is also lined in marble
and offers a walk-in shower.
Along with all the amenities of
both Washington Harbour and surrounding Georgetown, the condoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

site offers drivers quick access to
downtown and Rock Creek Parkway.
Those looking for outdoor recreation
space would find the Capital
Crescent Trail as well as the riverside path.
Washington Harbourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serviceoriented staff canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be beat, said
Laflam, adding that residents can
have groceries brought up to their
homes and have vehicles washed in
the garage. And with the high-profile
residents who number among

Laflamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neighbors, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no wonder
that security is top-notch.
Unit 209 at 3030 K St. NW is a
two-bedroom, 2.5-bath property
available for $1,395,000. Monthly
fees total $3,610 and include cable
television, gas, water, security,
maintenance, a parking space, onsite management and more. For
more information, contact Realtor
Terri Robinson of Long & Foster
Real Estate at 202-602-7737 or
trrestate@aol.com.

ELECTION: Grosso wins seat
From Page 1

areas, but had a stronger performance in much of Ward 4 and outside of Northwest.
The D.C. Board of Elections
reported that 51 percent of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
483,600 registered voters cast ballots on Election Day or at one of the
early-voting centers. The numbers
released last night by the board donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t
include provisional or absentee ballots, which will be counted next
week.
Other races in the city went mostly as expected, with incumbents
hanging on to their seats. Phil
Mendelson retained his role as council chairman, and D.C. Del. Eleanor
Holmes Norton secured a 12th term
in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mendelsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s win will force a special
election to fill the now-vacant atlarge seat he previously held.
Incumbent council members
Jack Evans (Ward 2) and Muriel
Bowser (Ward 4) ran unopposed to
resume their posts, while Marion
Barry (Ward 8) and Yvette Alexander
(Ward 7) defeated opponents by
wide margins.
In a political environment where
the status quo has largely held, the
uncertainties of the at-large race
made it the most closely scrutinized.
Grossoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s win marks a rare unseating of a council incumbent in the
general election.
A former council aide and staffer
to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Grosso took leave from his job as
vice president of public policy at
CareFirst to focus on his campaign.
The Brookland resident won attention for successful fundraising â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
close to $160,000 by Octoberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and sealing endorsements from
outlets like The Washington Post,
The Current and The Washington
Examiner.
Brown was elected to the council
in 2008 and has chaired its
Committee on Housing and
Economic Development. On the
campaign trail, he highlighted his
work to restore affordable housing
and jobs for District residents, and
won endorsements from nine local
unions.
But Brownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign also
faced some notable setbacks â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
chiefly, reports that he had been
delinquent on tax, mortgage and rent
payments, and the high-profile disappearance of large chunk of his
campaign treasury.
The other at-large candidates â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Republican nominee Mary Brooks
Beatty, independents A.J. Cooper
and Leon Swain, and Statehood
Green nominee Ann Wilcox â&#x20AC;&#x201D; each
received about 6 or 7 percent of the
votes. As of last nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tally, Orange
placed lower than second in only
four precincts throughout the city.
Elsewhere on the ballot, voters
supported three charter amendments
intended to tighten ethics standards.
The races for U.S. shadow senator and U.S. shadow representative
went as expected, with Democratic
nominees Michael D. Brown and
Nate Bennett-Fleming taking those
posts, respectively.
For the State Board of Education,
Mary Lord won the at-large seat.
Jack Jacobson was elected unopposed to fill Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former role as
the boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ward 2 representative,
and D. Kamili Anderson was unopposed in her re-election to the
boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ward 4 seat.

assport Please,” featuring
new works by Bombay
Sapphire Artisan Series
two-time semifinalist Al Burts, will
open tomorrow at International
Visions Gallery and continue
through Dec. 8. Burts uses the thin
line of a ballpoint pen to portray
African-American themes.
An opening reception will take
place Saturday from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Located at 2629 Connecticut
Ave. NW, the gallery is open
Wednesday through Saturday from
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 202-234-5112.
■ “Losing something you never
had,” an exhibit by Benjamin Bellas
that meditates on an uncle of his
who died in the Vietnam War, will
open Friday at Flashpoint Gallery
and continue through Dec. 21.
An opening reception will take
place Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Located at 916 G St. NW, the
gallery is open Tuesday through
Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. 202-

On exhibit

315-1305.
■ “Guardians of the Mosque:
African Palestinians of Jerusalem,”
featuring photographs by Andrew
Courtney, will open with an artist’s
reception and book signing Friday
from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Jerusalem
Fund Gallery. The exhibit will
continue through Dec. 1.
Located at 2425 Virginia Ave.
NW, the gallery is open Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. 202-338-1958.
■ “Crime & Redemption Theatre,”
presenting works by Clara Vannucci
that document the therapeutic use of
method acting in Tuscany’s Volterra
Prison, will open Friday at the Joan
Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery and
continue through Dec. 20.
An opening reception will take
place Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., preceded by an artist’s talk at 6 p.m.

Located at 1632 U St. NW, the
gallery is open Wednesday through
Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
202-483-8600.
■ The National Portrait Gallery
will open a exhibit Friday of recent
acquisitions, including paintings of
Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Adolph
Ochs; a bronze of Ethel Waters;
photographs of Marjorie
Merriweather Post, Mary Pickford
and Muhammad Ali; and prints of
George Washington and Samuel
Adams. The exhibit will remain on
view through next October.
Located at 8th and F streets NW,
the gallery is open daily from 11:30
a.m. to 7 p.m. 202-633-1000.
■ Robert Brown Gallery will open
an exhibit Saturday of prints and
drawings by Danish artist Per
Kirkeby and continue it through
Dec. 15.
An opening reception will take
place Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.

Theater J to host look at Guthrie’s life, music

T

heater J will present
“Woody Sez: The Life &
Music of Woody Guthrie”
Nov. 8 through Dec. 2 at the
Washington DC Jewish Community
Center.
Celebrating the 100th birthday
of Woody Guthrie, the creator of

On STAGE

American classics including “This
Land Is Your Land” and “The
Ballad of Tom Joad,” this play is a
boisterous retelling of his life as an
American troubadour. It blends
musical numbers, scenes from
Guthrie’s life and excerpts from his
progressive newspaper column.
Performance times are generally
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Sunday; 8 p.m.
Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets cost $15 to $60. The center
is located at 1529 16th St. NW.
800-494-8497; theaterj.org.
■ American University will present David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prizewinning play “Glengarry/Glen
Ross” Nov. 8 through 10 at the
Katzen Arts Center.
Members of a real estate office
jockey for position as top salesman
knowing that the lowest performer
will lose his job. The play serves
not only as a time capsule that presages our current financial state but
also as a cautionary tale of what can
happen to a family, a business, a
nation and an empire when men are
the only ones behind the wheel.
Performance times are 8 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday and 2
p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $10 to
$15. American University’s Katzen
Arts Center is located at 4400
Massachusetts Ave. NW. 202-8852787; american.edu/cas/auarts.

Theater J will host “Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie”
Nov. 8 through Dec. 2 at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center.
■ Mirenka Cechová and
Tantehorse Theatre Company
will present “S/he Is Nancy Joe”
Nov. 8 through 11 at Mead Theatre
Lab at Flashpoint.
A movement and visual performance piece that utilizes a unique
style of street ballet, “S/he Is Nancy
Joe” tells the story of questioning
and gender identity that leads to
self-awareness, discovery and transformation.
Performance times are 7:30 p.m.
Thursday and Saturday and 2 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost
$10 to $20. Flashpoint is located at
916 G St. NW. 202-885-3872;
mirenkacechova.com.
■ The In Series will present
“Pocket Opera x2: Love &
Witchcraft” Nov. 10 through 26 at
Source.
Shows will feature Henry
Purcell’s “Dido & Aeneas,” the
story of African queen Dido’s fated
love for Aeneas, a Trojan prince,
and the envious sorcerer who conjures love away, and Manuel De
Falla’s “El Amor Brujo (Love by

Sorcery),” a ballet about a fearless
Spanish gypsy confronting her
inner demons as embodied by the
ghost of her abusive lover.
Performance times vary. Tickets
cost $19 to $40. Source is located at
1835 14th St. NW. 202-204-7763;
inseries.org.
■ The San Francisco Ballet will
present a mixed repertory program
Nov. 13 and 14 and “Romeo &
Juliet” Nov. 15 through 18 at the
Kennedy Center.
America’s oldest professional
ballet company will present a
mixed program of “Trio,” “RAkU,”
“Voices of Spring” and “Number
Nine,” followed by Shakespeare’s
timeless tale of two innocent young
people who relish the discovery and
passion of true love, only to have it
shattered by tragic twists of fate and
the destructive hatred of their own
families.
Performance times are 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30
p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets
cost $25 to $109. 202-467-4600;
kennedy-center.org.

Located at 1662 33rd St. NW,
the gallery is open Wednesday
through Saturday from noon to 6
p.m. 202-338-0353.
■ “Linling Lu: Lilac,” presenting
abstract paintings by contemporary
Chinese artist Linling Lu, will open
Saturday with a reception from 6 to
8 p.m. at Hemphill. The exhibit
will continue through Dec. 22.
Located at 1515 14th St. NW,
the gallery is open Tuesday through
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
202-234-5601.
■ Goethe-Institut will open an
exhibit Saturday that highlights the
winners of the new FotoWeek DC
photo book competition. Seminars
and portfolio reviews are scheduled
to coincide with the exhibit, which
will continue through Nov. 17.
Located at 812 7th St. NW, the
institute is open Monday through
Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 202289-1200, ext. 165.

“A Father’s Law,” ballpoint on
wood by Al Burts, is part of an
exhibit at International Visions.

Independence Avenue SW. 202-633-1000.
â&#x2013; Swedish singer-songwriter Anders
Holst will perform jazz selections. 8 p.m.
$15. House of Sweden, 2900 K St. NW.
202-467-2600.
Discussions and lectures
â&#x2013; The Foundation for Evangelismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
2012 Wallace Chappell
Lecture will feature
Andrew Root (shown),
associate professor of
youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary,
and Drew Dyson,
adjunct professor at
Wesley Theological Seminary, discussing
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Evangelism and Emerging Generation.â&#x20AC;?
10 to 11:30 a.m. Free. Oxnam Chapel,
Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500
Massachusetts Ave. NW.
wesleyseminary.edu.
â&#x2013; Jane Harman, director of the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, will discuss her current work and
her nine terms as a member of the U.S.
House of Representatives. 10 to 11:30
a.m. Free; reservations required. City View
Room, Elliott School of International
Affairs, George Washington University,
1957 E St. NW. bit.ly/Van927.
â&#x2013; Jake Sullivan, director of policy planning at the U.S. Department of State and
chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, will discuss U.S. foreign policy
under President Barack Obama. 12:30 to
1:30 p.m. Free. Abramson Family
Founders Room, School of International

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Service Building, American University,
Nebraska and New Mexico avenues NW.
202-885-1747.
â&#x2013; A reading by participants in the
University of Iowa International Writers
Project will feature Alisa Ganieva of Russia,
Taleb Al Refai of Kuwait, Bilal Tanweer of
Pakistan and Pandora of Burma. 4 p.m.
Free. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut
Ave. NW. 202-364-1919.
â&#x2013; Henri Barkey, professor of international relations at Lehigh University, and
Omer Taspinar, professor of Middle East
studies at the National Defense University,
will discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;Turkey, Iran and the Arab
Spring.â&#x20AC;? 6 p.m. Free. Room 500, BernsteinOffit Building, Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced International Studies,
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
sais-jhu.edu.
â&#x2013; George Washington University history
professor Eric Arneson will discuss his
forthcoming biography of labor leader and
civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph. 5:30
to 7:30 p.m. Free. Room 702, Gelman
Library, George Washington University,
2130 H St. NW. gwtoday.gwu.edu/events.
â&#x2013; A gallery talk will focus on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Picturing
Performers: Artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Depictions of Drama
and Dance.â&#x20AC;? 6 and 7 p.m. By donation.
Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. 202387-2151.
â&#x2013; International photojournalists will
share their work and reflect on the challenges of telling complex stories through
images. 6 to 7:30 p.m. Free; reservations
requested. Jack Morton Auditorium, School
of Media and Public Affairs, George
Washington University, 805 21st St. NW.
globalgoods-fotodc.eventbrite.com.
â&#x2013; Phillips Collection director Dorothy
Kosinski will discuss works in the Per
Kirkeby exhibition that she co-curated and
describe how the contemporary Danish
artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paintings and sculptures connect
to his writing on Ă&#x2030;douard Manet, Paul
CĂŠzanne and Auguste Rodin. 6:30 p.m.
$12; $10 for seniors and students; free for
ages 18 and younger. Phillips Collection,
1600 21st St. NW. phillipscollection.org.
â&#x2013; World War II veteran Arthur Seltzer,
one of the liberators of Dachau concentration camp, will speak to 3GDC, a local
group for grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. 6:30 p.m. $10; reservations required.
National Museum of American Jewish
Military History, 1811 R St. NW.
3gdcmilitarymuseum.eventbrite.com.
â&#x2013; Photographer Taryn Simon will discuss her four-year project â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Living Man
Declared Dead and Other Chapters I-XVIII,â&#x20AC;?
for which she traveled around the world
researching and recording bloodlines and
their related stories. 7 p.m. Free; reservations required. Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500
17th St. NW. 202-639-1770.
â&#x2013; Geneticist, filmmaker and gay activist Dean Hamer will discuss the scientific
evidence that sexual orientation has deep
biological roots. The
event will include a
screening of Dean
Hamer and Joe
Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2009 documentary â&#x20AC;&#x153;Out in the
Silence,â&#x20AC;? about a small
townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reactions to the
filmmakersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; same-sex wedding announcement and the brutal bullying of a gay teen.
7 to 9 p.m. Free. American University
Museum, Katzen Arts Center, American
University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
202-885-2436.
â&#x2013; Humanities scholars Marjorie
Lightman and William Zeisel will discuss
their book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since 1851: 160 Years of
See Events/Page 23

&

Continued From Page 22
Scholarship and Achievement in the
Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital,â&#x20AC;? about the history of higher education in the District. 7 p.m. Free.
Cleveland Park Library, 3310 Connecticut
Ave. NW. 202-282-3080.
â&#x2013; A panel discussion on â&#x20AC;&#x153;50 Years
After Michael Harringtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Other
Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: Where Is the War on Povertyâ&#x20AC;? will
feature Washington Post columnist Harold
Meyerson and Institute for Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Policy
founder Heidi Hartmann. A screening of
the 1999 film â&#x20AC;&#x153;Michael Harrington and
Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Other America: Corporate Power
and Inequalityâ&#x20AC;? will precede the discussion. 7 to 9 p.m. Free. McNeir Auditorium,
Georgetown University, 37th and O streets
NW. guevents.georgetown.edu.
â&#x2013; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Communicating the Message:
Election Results and Ramificationsâ&#x20AC;? will
feature Slate journalist David Plotz and
four former members of Congress â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Rep.
Anne Northrup, R-Ky., Rep. Albert R. Wynn,
D-Md., Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Rep.
Bart Gordon, D-Tenn. 7:30 p.m. Free.
McGowan Theater, National Archives
Building, Constitution Avenue between 7th
and 9th streets NW. 202-357-5000.
â&#x2013; Explorers and photographers Angela
Fisher and Carol Beckwith will discuss
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Painted Bodies of Africa.â&#x20AC;? 7:30 p.m. $20.
Grosvenor Auditorium, National
Geographic, 1600 M St. NW. 202-8577700.
â&#x2013; Historian and actor Ricky Jay, author
of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many
Mysteries
Unraveled:
Conjuring
Literature in
America 17861874,â&#x20AC;? will discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;Deception.â&#x20AC;? 8 p.m. $35. Folger
Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St.
SE. 202-544-7077.
Films
â&#x2013; The Palisades Library will present the
film â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pride and Prejudice,â&#x20AC;? starring Keira
Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and
Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. 4 p.m.
Free. Palisades Library, 4901 V St. NW.
202-282-3139.
â&#x2013; The Inter-American Development
Bank Cultural Center will present the D.C.
premiere of Pablo Aldreteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2010 film
â&#x20AC;&#x153;River of Gold.â&#x20AC;? 6:30 p.m. Free. Iglesias
Auditorium, Inter-American Development
Bank Cultural Center, 1330 New York Ave.
NW. 202-623-3558.
â&#x2013; Busboys and Poets will present a
screening of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bomb,â&#x20AC;? the third episode
in Oliver Stoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Showtime documentary series â&#x20AC;&#x153;Untold History of the United
States.â&#x20AC;? A question-and-answer session
with Stone and historian Peter Kuznick will
follow. 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Free. Cullen
Room, Busboys and Poets, 1025 5th St.
NW. 202-789-2227.
Performance
â&#x2013; As part of the Kids Euro Festival
2012, Hungaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Soma HajnĂłczy will present an interactive, fast-paced, humorous
evening of magic, music and fun. 6 p.m.
Free. Millennium Stage, Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600.
Special events
â&#x2013; Hemingway enthusiast and cocktail
connoisseur Philip Greene will discuss his
book â&#x20AC;&#x153;To Have and Have Another: Cocktails
With Hemingwayâ&#x20AC;? and lead a tasting of
several concoctions. 6:45 to 8:45 p.m.
$70. Mitsitam Cafe, National Museum of
the American Indian, 4th Street and

The Current

Events Entertainment
Independence Avenue SW. 202-633-3030.
â&#x2013; Bluegrass, jazz and blues musicians
will perform at an art auction featuring old
and broken musical instruments transformed into works of art. Proceeds will
benefit the group Hungry for Music. 7 to
11 p.m. $30. Gibson Guitar VIP Showroom,
709 G St. NW. hungryformusic.org.
Tour
â&#x2013; Scott Scholz, deputy director and
curator of the Dumbarton House, will lead
an in-depth tour of objects not usually
seen by the public, including the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Baltimore desk, piano forte and
Charleston sideboard. 7 p.m. $10; reservations required. Dumbarton House, 2715 Q
St. NW. curatorsopentour.eventbrite.com.
Friday, Nov. 9

364-1919.
â&#x2013; Said Tayeb Jawad, former ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, will
discuss the future of
Afghanistan after the
U.S. withdrawal. 7:30
to 9 p.m. Free; reservations required.
Room 213, Elliott
School of International
Affairs, George
Washington University, 1957 E St. NW.
tinyurl.com/DPEafghan2014.

â&#x2013; The band Yemen Blues will perform
its mix of West African sounds and
enhanced modern compositions. 8 p.m.
$20. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I
St. NW. 800-745-3000.
Discussions and lectures
â&#x2013; Panelists will discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;Public
Diplomacy in the Next Four Years: A PostElection Look at American Struggles and
Priorities for Engaging With the World.â&#x20AC;? 8
to 11 a.m. Free; reservations required.
Room 602, Elliott School of International
Affairs, George Washington University,
1957 E St. NW. ow.ly/eWkpK.
â&#x2013; The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
at American University will present a talk
by Ron Nessen, journalist-in-residence at
the Brookings Institution and White House
press secretary under President Gerald
Ford, on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grading the Performance of the
News Media in Covering the 2012
Presidential Election.â&#x20AC;? 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Free. Room 6, Temple Baptist Church,
3850 Nebraska Ave. NW. 202-895-4860.
â&#x2013; A panel discussion on the late artist
Benjamin Abramowitz and the burgeoning,
largely segregated 1940s-era art scene in
the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital will feature moderator
Susan Abramowitz Rosenbaum, the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter and co-curator of an exhibit
of his work; Scott Baker, assistant director
of Howard University Gallery; Lilian Thomas
Burwell, an artist and a former student of

Abramson Family Founders Room, School
of International Service Building, American
University, Nebraska and New Mexico avenues NW. 202-885-1747.
â&#x2013; Experts will discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Wounded
Warrior Home Project,â&#x20AC;? about a Fort
Belvoir, Va., effort to highlight accessible
design. 6:30 to 8 p.m. $20; $12 for students; free for military personnel.
Reservations required. National Building
Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202-272-2448.
â&#x2013; Andrew J. Polsky, professor of political science at Hunter College and the City
University of New York Graduate Center,
will discuss his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Elusive Victories: The
American Presidency at War.â&#x20AC;? 6:45 to 8:15
p.m. $25. S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100
Jefferson Drive SW. 202-633-3030.
â&#x2013; Irish author
Colm TĂłibin will discuss his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;The
Testament of Mary.â&#x20AC;? 7
p.m. Free. Politics and
Prose, 5015
Connecticut Ave. NW.
202-364-1919.
â&#x2013; Peter Stonier and John Martin of
Conservation International will discuss how
engaging the right leaders can make a difference between a film that aspires to
have impact and one that achieves it. The
presentation will include examples of videos the organization has made. 7 p.m.
See Events/Page 30

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Concerts
■ The Georgetown University Chamber
Singers will perform Monteverdi’s
“Magnificat.” 7:30 p.m. Free. Dahlgren
Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Georgetown
University, 37th and O streets NW. 202687-3838.
■ Violinist Jesús Reina (shown) and
pianist Edvinas Minkstimas will perform as
part of the
Embassy
Series. 7:30
p.m. $160.
Residence of
the European
Union
Ambassador, 2542 Belmont St. NW. 202625-2361.
Discussions and lectures
■ The National Consumers League will
sponsor a symposium on food safety,

sequestration and privacy issues. 11:45
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Free; reservations
required. Room B-369, Rayburn House
Office Building, 45 Independence Ave. SW.
nclnet.org.
■ Steve Mouzon, principal of Mouzon
Design, will discuss “Original Green,” a
concept that emphasizes sustainable places that are nourishable, accessible and
serviceable with buildings that are durable,
flexible and frugal. 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Free; reservations required. National
Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202-2722448.
■ Columbia University professor Ruth
Defries will discuss “How Humanity Came
to Dominate the Planet.” 4 to 6 p.m. Free;
reservations required. Mortara Center,
Georgetown University, 3600 N St. NW.
defries.eventbrite.com.
■ Contributor Rick Atkinson will discuss
the book “My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate
Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and
Shop,” at 5:30 p.m.; and David Nasaw will
discuss his book “The Patriarch: The
Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of
Joseph P. Kennedy,” at 7 p.m. Free. Politics
and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW.
202-364-1919.
■ At an open meeting of the Chevy
Chase chapter of National Active and
Retired Federal Employees Association,
economist Walton Francis will advise federal employees and retirees on their choices
of their health insurance plan during the
current open season. 6 p.m. Free. TenleyFriendship Library, 4450 Wisconsin Ave.
NW. 202-234-2911.
■ Marcee F. Craighill, director of the
Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S.
Department of State, will give an illustrated
lecture about the celebrated spaces used
to entertain official guests. 6:45 to 8:45
p.m. $45. Rasmuson Theater, National
Museum of the American Indian, 4th
Street and Independence Avenue SW.
202-633-3030. Attendees will be able to
sign up for a 45-minute tour on a selection
of dates.
■ Tim McGrath will discuss “John
Barry, An American Hero in the Age of
Sail.” 7 p.m. Free. Anderson House,
Society of the Cincinnati, 2118
Massachusetts Ave. NW. 202-785-2040.
■ Irene Levin Berman will discuss her
book “‘We Are Going to Pick Potatoes’:
Norway and the Holocaust, The Untold
Story.” 7 to 8:30 p.m. Free; reservations
required. Jack Morton Auditorium, School
of Media and Public Affairs, 805 21st St.
NW. 202-994-7129.
■ As part of the D.C. Public Library’s
DC Reads program, the Mount Pleasant
Library Book Club will discuss “Reading
‘Lolita’ in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi. 7 p.m.
Free. Mount Pleasant Library, 3160 16th
St. NW. 202-671-3121.
■ Magnum photographers Larry Towell
and Peter van Agtmael will discuss
“Transforming Society Through Photos: The
Role of Free and Independent
Photojournalism.” 7 p.m. $12; $6 for students. Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th
St. NW. 202-639-1770.
■ Author Timothy Egan will discuss
“Shadows, Reflections, Spirits: The Stories
Behind Edward Curtis’s Photos of Native
America.” 7 to 8:30 p.m. $20. S. Dillon
Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW.
202-633-3030.
■ Peter Matthiessen, co-founder of the
Paris Review and recipient of National
Book Awards for “The Snow Leopard” and
“Shadow Country,” will discuss his life and
work in a conversation with NG Traveler
editor at large Don George. 7:30 p.m. $20.
Grosvenor Auditorium, National

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